


Crusher And Pickle's Secrets

by MoonalineMariaGia2004



Category: Blaze and the Monster Machines
Genre: F/F, Gen, Love, M/M, Mpreg, blaze x darington, blazington, crickle, crusher x pickle, gabbj, gabby x aj, secret, starla x watts, truckpreg, wattsla
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-16 07:48:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 27,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28827687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonalineMariaGia2004/pseuds/MoonalineMariaGia2004
Summary: Crusher and Pickle have some secrets. First Blaze and the Monster Machines Fanfic. Crusher X Pickle. Mpreg.
Relationships: Blaze/Darington (Blaze and the Monster Machines), Crusher & Blaze (Blaze and the Monster Machines), Crusher & Crusher's Grammy (Blaze and the Monster Machines), Crusher/Pickle (Blaze and the Monster Machines), Gabby/AJ (Blaze and the Monster Machines), Starla/Watts (Blaze and the Monster Machines)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 5





	1. Secret Romance

**Author's Note:**

> MY FIRST BLAZE AND THE MONSTER MACHINES STORY! HELP ME, I'M OBSSESSED!
> 
> Also, here, AJ and Gabby are like... 13? It's been 5 years since Blaze and AJ became racers. Just to note out, you know.
> 
> I DON'T OWN ANYTHING BUT THE STORY!!! ENJOY!

Crusher woke up with a yawn as he got up and drove his way out of the kitchen and into the dining room.

"Good morning, Crusher!" Pickle greeted as he set two plates of waffles down on the table.

"Good morning..." Crusher smiled and drove over to peck the green truck on the head. "You're up early,"

"Went to check the fridge for food, and wouldn't you know it? We're out of food!" Pickle laughed. "We're gonna have to go shopping before heading to the Monster Dome for the race!"

"Need me to make a list?"

"Nah, I've already made it!" Pickle took out a long list from behind the kitchen counter. "It's a long, LONG list,"

"At least we have a list," Crusher chuckled. "You do remember our excuse whenever someone sees us shopping together, right?"

"Sure do!" Pickle nodded. "I'm helping my best friend with shopping!"

"Great!" Crusher grinned and ate up his stack of waffles.

Pickle's smile slightly faltered as he set his cooking apron on the counter. He then turned back to the dark blue truck before sighing. Crusher was mid-way on eating his second waffle when he heard his sigh.

"Something wrong?"

"Nothing! It's just..." Pickle fiddled with his tires before letting out another sigh. "Are you SURE that we can't tell anyone else about our relationship?"

"Pickle, we went over this," Crusher frowned. "Not everyone in Axel City likes homosexual stuff,"

"What about our racer friends?"

"YOUR racer friends," Crusher corrected. "And yes, same thing,"

"Aw, I'm sure that there are trucks out there who would accept us... like your Grammy and my family!" Pickle exclaimed.

"Pickle..." Crusher sighed and moved over to the other, a tire around the green truck. "I love your enthusiasm, really, I do, but... we can't always be sure. It's... It's hard to trust other trucks, these days. Remember what happened when I introduced you to my parents,"

Pickle shuddered. "That was... an awful experience,"

"The way they embarrassed you was definitely an awful experience," Crusher nodded in agreement. "And that's why I'm worried,"

"Okay, okay, Crusher," Pickle smiled and patted the other's free tire reassuringly. "I get it. I won't bring it up again,"

"Thank you," Crusher returned the smile. "Now, let's finish breakfast before heading out to shop, okay?"

"You got it!" Pickle grinned.

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"So... we need a loaf of bread and five more watermelons!" Pickle announced as he read the list.

"Five watermelons?!" Crusher stared at his secret boyfriend in disbelief. "What for?!"

"For fruit juggling!" Pickle then proceeded to juggle the fruits from the cart.

"Woah!" Crusher yelped as the fruits were tossed into the air and landed on his head. "Argh... you're so lucky that I love you..."

Suddenly, a familiar horn echoed through the supermarket. Both trucks turned to see a familiar red truck race over to them.

"Hey, Pickle! Hey Crusher!"

"Oh, hi, Blaze!" Pickle greeted with a wave.

"Blaze. AJ." Crusher grumbled, glaring at his rival. "What are you two doing in the supermarket?"

"Shopping for food," AJ replied from the driver seat.

"What a coincidence! We were just doing the same thing!" Pickle laughed.

"Out of food too? Wow!" Blaze grinned then he turned to his rival. "Anyway, good luck on the race later today, Crusher!"

"Pshh, I don't NEED luck," Crusher huffed. "I KNOW that I'll win,"

"Whatever you say," Blaze shrugged then he and AJ went off.

"Well, at least they weren't suspicious," Pickle pointed out.

"Thank goodness, they weren't," Crusher sighed in relief. "I bet they thought we were just roommates... like them,"

"Crusher..." Pickle turned to him. "I know I shouldn't because we both already know why we're hiding, but I feel guilty,"

"I know, I know, Pickle," Crusher patted the other comfortingly. "As much as I'd like to, I just... don't feel like we should. Hard to trust anyone and everyone... especially when everyone hates me,"

"Aw, Crusher..." Pickle frowned. "I don't hate you,"

"And I'm so lucky that you don't," Crusher smiled.

Pickle's eyes lit up, cheeks flushing. Crusher blinked at him strangely.

"W-What is it?"

"I... Your smile's just so... amazing," Pickle gave the dark blue truck a dazed smile. "It's just... so rare that whenever you laugh or smile, it makes me all warm and fuzzy inside,"

"R-Really?" Now it was Crusher's turn to blush as he spoke low for no one to hear. "T-Thanks, Pickle. I love you,"

"I love you too,"

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"AAAAAND THE WINNERS ARE... BLAZE AND AJ!"

The crowd cheered as Blaze and AJ got the trophy, waving their fans. Their friends surrounded them, congratulating them happily. Only Pickle didn't go to him. Instead, he drove towards his secret lover.

"Aw, sorry you lost the race, Crusher," he told him sympathetically.

"I REALLY wanted to win..." Crusher whined, but it didn't sound as babyish as it had been years ago. "And those were my best cheats too,"

"Maybe you'll win next race!" Pickle grinned as they turned to drive away from the crowd of racers. "Or the race after that! Or the race after that! Or the---"

"Okay, I get it, Pickle. I get it," Crusher rolled his eyes with a grin as he made his way out of the Monster Dome with his secret boyfriend.

They made their way through the city and to an ice cream parlor. Crusher got a vanilla and chocolate sundae with sprinkles and a cherry on top while Pickle got a banana split with the flavors mango, strawberry and vanilla, each with a cherry on top.

"This banana split is SO good!" Pickle licked his lips and used his spoon to take another bite.

"This ice cream idea after every losing race is actually a good idea, Pickle," Crusher happily said as he ate his sundae. "It's a win-win!"

"How?" Pickle asked through bites and bites of banana.

"I get to eat some DELICIOUS ice cream, AND we can go on a date without rousing suspicion," Crusher grinned.

"Oh! That's great!" Pickle laughed. "I love our ice cream dates!"

"Me too!" Crusher smiled, but it quickly faltered when he spotted familiar monster machines at the door. "Oh no, company, 8 o'clock!"

Pickle turned and gave the other a brief nod before waving at the group. "Hey, guys!"

"Hey, Pickle! Hey, Crusher!" Blaze greeted as he and the others took their places near the counter.

"You guys are here for ice cream too?" AJ asked, getting off the driver's seat with his helmet off, which showed off his lock of brown hair.

"Uh-huh!" Pickle nodded with a smile. "I took Crusher to get some ice cream for him to feel better from the race!"

"It was working GREAT until you guys came in," Crusher grumbled.

"We came to have some celebratory ice cream!" Stripes exclaimed. "In celebration for Blaze's victory!"

"Yay! Ice Cream!" Darington cried out, licking his lips.

"Zeg LOVE Ice Cream!" Zeg beamed.

"Well, who doesn't?" Starla grinned, which caused Watts and Gabby to hum and nod in agreement.

Crusher sighed and grabbed his sundae before rolling out. Pickle turned to give the group a quick goodbye then he grabbed the container of his banana split and drove out too. He soon caught up to the dark blue truck.

"Hey," he managed to drive beside him, nudging a tire to the other. "You okay?"

"M'fine," Crusher offered him a small smile. "Just... crowded, that's all,"

Pickle knew that there was more to it than that, but he nodded and took in the excuse as they drove back to their home. They had finished their ice cream by the time they actually got home. They washed the containers to return to the ice cream parlor the next day then they made their way to fix up some dinner.

While eating, Crusher was staring at his secret lover, mind buzzing with questions and insecurities. Pickle ignored his eyes until he realized that the dark blue truck was barely eating at all. He sighed and set down his spoon before looking up.

"Something wrong, sweetie?"

Crusher snapped out from his trance, a blush appearing on his face in reaction to the pet name before shrugging. "Just... thinking,"

"About what?"

"About... you," Crusher sighed and set down his spoon. "About me. About... us,"

"What about it?" Pickle tilted his head, already knowing where the conversation was heading off to.

"Pickle... you're a really great guy. You're amazing, you're wonderful, with the best family and the best of friends that anyone and everyone could ever ask for," Crusher then looked away. "And then... there's me. Rude, a cheater, so obsessed with winning, so full of himself... why do you bother to stick around with me when you deserve someone better?"

Yep, Pickle has definitely hear of those before. It wasn't their first conversation about this, it was a talk that came about every... two weeks? Every failed races? Since their relationship started, they started to have those conversations, and Crusher privately brought himself down while publicly bringing himself up, thinking Pickle wouldn't notice.

But of course, it was too obvious to ignore when the green truck practically lives and sleeps with the dark blue one.

"Crusher, we've been over this, every night you lose a race," Pickle shook his head. "Is it because of Blaze and the others?"

"I mean... you could be going out with them and hanging out with them," Crusher still didn't look at him. "You and Blaze are the best of friends, yet... you stick by me when you deserve better,"

"What could be better than you?" Pickle moved over and placed a tire on the other's cheek gently. "I stuck by you before because you were my best friend. I stick by you now because I love you. Sure, there are times that you take things too far, and I don't like how you cheat too much, but if that's who you are then I accept you, especially since I know the environment and family that you grew up in,"

"You... accept me?" Crusher finally looked up at him. "Are you sure? This isn't... This isn't fake?"

"Nope!" Pickle pressed his lips against the dark blue truck. "I love you for who you are, Crusher. Now and forever,"

Crusher blinked at him before smiling, which made Pickle's stomach flip happily. "Thank you, honey," He then moved closer and squeezed the green truck into a big hug, pecking him on the cheek. "I love you too,"


	2. Special Secret News

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM OBSSESSED, AND I DON'T REGRET IT XD And yes, this idea has been severely thought out, but going to be poorly written because I'm the one writing it.
> 
> Also... they're trucks. How can one get pregnant? No clue. How can a MALE get pregnant? Magic. (Abra-ka-PICKLE magic! XD)
> 
> ENJOY!

Pickle first thought that it had been just the case of a flu.

His morning had started out fine; Wake up in the morning, make some breakfast for him and Crusher, search in the news for any upcoming races for Crusher to go on then head there after washing up the dishes.

Mid-search, however, had gone more eventful than wanted.

"Pickle?!" Crusher ran after his lover as the green truck made his way to the restroom to vomit. "Pickle, what's wrong?!"

"I... ugh, I don't know..." Pickle groaned, his head spinning as he stumbled back into the other's tires. "I don't feel so good..."

"Are you getting sick?" Crusher frowned and held the green truck's face to check. "Do you feel dizzy?"

"I feel... nausea... and hungry..." Pickle hissed and shook his head to snap himself out. "Really, REALLY hungry,"

"Hungry?" Crusher raised an eyebrow at the other. "But, Pickle, we just had breakfast!"

"But... But I'm hungry!" Pickle whimpered, puppy eyes shooting up at the dark blue truck. "PLEASE?!"

"Aw, Pickle, you know that I can't say no to the puppy eyes!" Crusher sighed and patted his head. "Alright, alright, I'll get you something to eat. What do you want?"

"Yay!" Pickle beamed. "Ooh! Ooh! How about some yummy fruit salad... with lots and lots of---"

"Let me guess; pickles?" Crusher guessed.

But Pickle shook his head. "Nope! I want fruit salad with... chocolate syrup and spicy sauce!"

"Chocolate syrup? Spicy sauce?!" Crusher looked horrified. "Pickle, are you SURE that you're feeling okay?"

"Maybe...? Maybe not...?" Pickle shrugged. "I don't know. What I DO know is that I'm HUNGRY!"

"Okay, okay, fine," Crusher let out another sigh. "Stay here and rest while I get you some... strange fruit salad,"

"Yipee!" Pickle hugged his secret boyfriend tightly. "THANKS, CRUSHER!"

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But after two weeks, the strange cravings and mood swings called off the first thought. And after that were more vomiting, after every meal that he had, and his favorite food was no longer delicious to him. Soon after, a weight gain. A sudden weight gain from an unknown reason.

By then, Pickle knew something else was wrong with him. Crusher did too, but the dark blue truck hid it well when driving together in public... until at home, of course, where he would flip out and try to figure out what the hell was going on with his lover.

"That's it! We're going to the doctor!" Crusher announced.

"But, Crusher, you have a race today," Pickle argued.

"Yes, I know, but whatever is wrong with YOU is getting stranger and stranger every day!" Crusher sighed, turning to the green truck. "We need to find out what's going on,"

"Hmm... why not ask your Grammy to go with me, so you can race?" Pickle suggested.

"Pickle---"

"Come on, Crusher, if you miss the race, everyone will be suspicious about it because you NEVER miss a race," Pickle pointed out. "You even raced in outerspace!"

"I--- fine," Crusher let out a sigh in defeat. "Fine, fine, you have a point. I'll call Grammy, but if she's busy, WE are heading off to the doctor, alright?"

Pickle knew he couldn't argue any further, so he sighed and nodded. Crusher smiled and kissed his head then he drove off to get in contact with his Grammy.

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"Oh, there is no need to be nervous, Pickle, dear," Grammy reassured the green truck as they waited for the doctor to call them in.

"I'm not nervous, Ms. Grammy," Pickle shook his head, offering Crusher's grandmother a smile. "I'm just a little... scared,"

"If you are scared then my Crushy must be TERRIFIED!" Grammy laughed.

"Yeah, he's pretty startled by everything that's happening to me," Pickle let out a laugh. "He's like 'Pickle, what's wrong?!' then he drives around the house, all panicky and yelling out over and over again,"

"That's just a sign that he cares about you, Pickle, dear," Grammy patted him gently. "And you are very lucky. You are one of the few he cares about,"

"I know, I'm pretty lucky," Pickle beamed.

"Next patient; Mr. Pickle!" the Nurse truck called out.

"Ooh! That's me!" Pickle jumped for joy before driving over to the exam room, with Grammy following behind him.

"Well, hello, Pickle," the doctor offered him a smile as soon as he was inside. "What seems to be trouble?"

And so, Pickle recited everything that happened to him for the past two weeks. The doctor listened attentively, nodding at each symptom told and noting them down. After everything was listed, the doctor looked back at the green truck with a smile.

"These symptoms are quite... familiar, yet unique for your... gender, but I won't know until we run some tests," she placed her notes down in her pocket then drove past the two. "Come on, let's go to the laboratory,"

"Uh... okay, doc," Pickle nodded and followed behind her.

Grammy patted him on the back reassuringly as they made their way to the laboratory. the doctor led Pickle to an x-ray machine (I mean, for trucks, it should be x-ray, not ultrasounds, right???). The green truck made his way towards the x-ray and watched as the doctor turned on the machine and placed it on his side.

"Hmm... just as I thought..."

"Is there a problem?" Grammy asked, driving to her with a concerned expression.

"Not... a problem, per se," the doctor shook her head and pointed to the x-ray screen. "Please see what's on the screen..."

Grammy blinked in confusion until she turned to the screen. Her eyes widened, and her jaw dropped before she shook her head and narrowed her eyes at the screen.

"Is this certain, doctor?"

"Yes, it is," the doctor nodded. "It is a rare condition, but yes, this is certain,"

"Oh my..." Grammy gasped. "This... This is amazing!"

"What's amazing?" Pickle was confused and curious as he tried to drive to see.

"Not yet, Pickle," the doctor stopped the green truck from moving. "Let me snap a picture for you to see,"

With a click and a print, the x-ray was turned off, and the doctor took out the picture from the printer and set it on the exam table. Pickle drove over and tilted his head as his eyes roamed over the picture.

"Uh, what am I suppose to be looking at?"

"Here, Pickle, dear," Grammy pointed a tire to a shape forming in Pickle's stomach.

"Huh," Pickle was still confused. "Is that... something I ate?"

"Oh, no, no, Pickle," the doctor shook her head. "That is something, or someone, growing inside you,"

"Growing... inside of me?!" Pickle's jaw dropped.

"Don't worry, Pickle, dear," Grammy rubbed his back comfortingly. "It's not dangerous, for it is a child growing inside of you,"

Pickle was silent. He contemplated everything for a moment before fainting.

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"Pickle, dear? Are you alright?"

Pickle woke up to the sound of Grammy's voice, his vision clearing up to see her and the doctor staring down at him worriedly. He groaned and picked himself up, rubbing his aching head.

"Ugh... what happened...?"

"You fainted when we told you that you were pregnant, Pickle," the doctor gave him a smile as she helped him up steadily.

"Oh, I see--- wait, WHAT?!" Pickle turned to her in disbelief. "That's not possible! Is it?"

"It is, but it is very rare," the doctor explained. "A child from two males is truly a blessing,"

"And you're not the first to have it in your family," Grammy added. "I called your grandpa, and he told me that some of your male ancestors had gotten pregnant in the past,"

"I... I... oh my..." Pickle placed a tire on his head as he thought things through. "I... I'm pregnant..."

"And I'm having a great-grandchild!" Grammy beamed. "I'm so EXCITED! I'm gonna tell your grandfather and the rest of the Pickle Family! They're gonna be so happy for you and Crushy, Pickle, dear!"

"I... I'm happy too, but..." Pickle bit his bottom lip. "what if Crusher doesn't accept it?"

"Aw, I'm sure he will," Grammy assured him with a smile and a pat. "Crushy would never say no to family... or to you!"

"That's... kinda true," Pickle took a deep breath and nodded. "Alright, I'll tell him when he gets back after the race,"

"That's the spirit!" Grammy smiled then she turned back to the doctor. "Mind if we get the x-ray, doctor?"

"Oh, not at all!" the doctor grabbed a brown envelope and carefully slid the picture inside then she turned and gave it to Pickle. "Congratulations to you and Crusher!"

Pickle gave the doctor a smile, but it faltered as he and Grammy made their way out of the hospital. As they drove to the Monster Dome to see and pick up Crusher, Grammy noticed the worried expression on the green truck's face. She pulled him close to her comfortingly.

"There's no need to fret, Pickle, dear," she told him. "I'll be there when you tell him,"

"Really?" Pickle's eyes lit up. "Thanks, Ms. Grammy,"

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"Ugh, so close!" Crusher hissed as he glared at his rival took the victory yet AGAIN. "Every time... argh!"

"Oh, Crushy!"

He turned to the voice and beamed. "Grammy!" He drove over to be enveloped in a big hug by his grandmother. "You're here!"

"Good to see you too, Crushy!" Grammy kissed her grandson dearly. "How was the race?"

"I lost... again," Crusher sighed then he turned to smile at his lover. "Hey, Pickle. You feeling better?"

"Um... kinda," Pickle faked a smile, which made the dark blue truck's smile falter in an instant.

"What?" Crusher turned back to his grandmother. "Grammy, what happened?"

"Later, Crushy, when we get home," Grammy told him with reassuring smile. "Don't worry. It isn't bad. Promise,"

"Alright..." Crusher wasn't convinced, but he trusted his grandmother over many things, so he just nodded before following her and Pickle home.

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"Hey, isn't that Crusher's Grammy?" AJ asked, pointing to the dark indigo truck leading Crusher and Pickle out of the Monster Dome. "And isn't that Pickle with her?"

"Huh," Blaze turned to catch a glimpse of them before they left. "you're right, AJ. Strange,"

"What's so strange?" Stripes asked as he and the others gathered over at their victorious friend.

"Did anyone see Pickle with Crusher today?" Blaze questioned.

"Zeg no see Pickle," Zeg shook his head.

"Nobody did," Darington replied, shaking his head too. "It was so weird,"

"Yeah," Starla agreed with a nod. "Pickle's always with Crusher... even when he cheats his worse cheats on us!"

"What's more is that Crusher didn't seem to mind that Pickle wasn't with him but knows that Pickle isn't there," Watts added.

"I'm surprised that we never asked where was Pickle," Gabby pointed out as she hopped off of Watts. "He never misses Crusher's races, right?"

"Yeah... it's... odd," Blaze nodded.

"What do you think is going on, Blaze?" AJ asked his best friend. "I mean, this IS Crusher we're talking about,"

"Do ya fellas think something happened to Pickle?" Starla raised an eyebrow.

"Something Crusher knows but... doesn't want to tell us," Stripes frowned.

"Calm down, guys," Blaze offered them a smile. "Whatever it is, it seems that Crusher's Grammy knows about it too, so it can't be too bad,"

"How can you be sure, Blaze?" Gabby questioned.

"We've met Crusher's Grammy, and she's great," AJ agreed with the red truck. "If it's something bad, I'm sure she'd tell us if we were needed,"

"Yeah, you're right, AJ," Blaze grinned. "We can't assume something without having proof. We'll leave it alone for a while, alright, guys?"

The friends exchanged glances but nodded with their friend in agreement. It couldn't be too bad now, right?

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"So, what's going on?" Crusher asked as soon as they got home. "What did you find out at the doctor?"

"Well... I'm not sick," Pickle started out, still as nervous as ever.

"That's great!" Crusher beamed.

"BUT... whatever I'm getting will still be here," Pickle winced at how terribly nervous he sounded. "For... 9 months, at least,"

"9... what?" Crusher turned to his grandmother with a confused stare. "Grammy?"

"Pickle, dear, I think it's much easier to show Crushy what you mean," Grammy suggested to the green truck.

Pickle swallowed but nodded and took out the brown envelope from earlier. He opened it and held out the picture of the x-ray to the other, who gently took it into his tires and narrowed his eyes to see it.

"Is it... something you ate...?" Crusher tried to guess.

"No..." Pickle shook his head.

"It's... something... inside you?!" Crusher gasped. "GROWING inside you?!"

"It's not something bad, Crushy, don't worry," Grammy patted her grandson gently. "Look at the picture. What is the shape of the thing inside?"

"Hmm..." Crusher looked closer and tilted his head. "It's a shape of... a truck?"

"A baby truck, actually," Pickle confessed then he took a deep breath before adding. "I'm pregnant, Crusher,"

Crusher was speechless at the news. Speechless and amazed, but he didn't want to excite himself too early. He waited, waited for them to call the bluff and tell him that it was something else. That it wasn't a child and that it was just a clickbait.

But it never came. Pickle just stared at him with soft, sincere eyes. His Grammy smiled at him, eyes just as soft as they both waited for his reaction.

"You're... You're pregnant?"

"Uh-huh," Pickle nodded slowly.

"And it's... our child?"

"Mm-hmm," Another nod.

"I... I'm gonna be a dad?"

"Yes, Crushy, you're gonna be a father," Grammy chuckled.

"I... I'm gonna be a dad!" Crusher let out a gasp, tires going to his head in both surprise and alarm. "Holy, I'm gonna be a DAD!" His face then turned horrified. "But... what if I'm a terrible dad?!"

"Oh, Crusher, it's okay," Pickle gave him a smile, stretching a tire to his lover's. "You're gonna be great! I believe in you,"

"You... do?" Crusher blinked at him. "But... But what if I'm not ready?!"

"No one can ever be truly ready for parenthood," Grammy told him. "but you'll learn as you go,"

"Honestly, I'm not sure if I'm ready either," Pickle confessed. "but as long as I'm with you, I KNOW that things will be fine,"

"Oh, honey..." Crusher smiled and kissed his lover's cheek. "I love you... SO much..."

"Aww, I love you too, sweetie," Pickle laughed as he was enveloped into a hug.

It looked like things were gonna be more interesting around them now.


	3. Secret Proposal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, I'm so obsessed, and I don't freaking care! I'm gonna finish this story and move on to the other BATMM stories I have in my mind! XD
> 
> Enjoy!

It had been 6 months since Pickle and Crusher found out they were going to be parents. The whole Pickle Family was so happy and excited that they practically threw a surprise baby shower at them by 2 months. Crusher was so surprised that he stumbled back and nearly knocked the stack of presents over. Pickle had laughed while helping him up.

Crusher was very protective for the past 6 months. No, protective wasn't strong enough for a word to describe how he was acting. He was very, VERY OVERprotective. Whenever they drove around together, publicly and/or privately, he'd always look around cautiously, eyes narrowed to make sure no one would DARE to harm or even go near his lover or his child.

Pickle didn't mind it, though. He was a little body-shamed because of his condition. His stomach had grown and made him look larger than average, so he usually hid himself behind Crusher's larger frame, making sure no one noticed how he looked. There had been a time where a group of jerks came and called him fat. His mood swings made him cry back home.

Needless to say, the jerks were later in Gabby's for repairs, and it may or may not be because of the Smasher Bot that Crusher sent after them.

Everyone would be suspicious why Pickle was suddenly gaining weight and was suddenly looking... larger than usual. They would ask him, and Pickle would joke around that he was only eating more and more and that he was just getting healthy. If anyone dared to ask Crusher, he would yell at them for commenting such a thing.

But no one seemed to realize their relationship slowly being revealed, nor did they notice the child growing in Pickle's stomach...

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It was soon a bright spring day. Pickle and Crusher's morning went on as usual, only with extra care and more vigilance. And for that afternoon, Crusher decided to go on a picnic.

"A picnic?" Pickle's eyes lit up at the idea. "REALLY?!"

"Totally!" Crusher nodded, holding a picnic basket with one tire. "All with your favorite food!"

"Yay!" Pickle cheered. "What's the occasion?"

"Just... feeling up to it, today," Crusher smiled as he led them both to the door.

"What about... getting seen by anyone we know?" Pickle asked, mood switching to worry.

"Don't worry, Pickle, I chose a spot near the lake but hidden from anyone else," Crusher kissed his head before opening the door. "We can have our picnic date without having the worry of anyone seeing us or even discovering 'us', for that matter,"

"Oh, okay," Pickle beamed as he drove behind the dark blue truck.

They were about to head over to the park when a familiar horn rang across the street. Crusher groaned.

"Great..."

"Hi, Blaze! Hi, AJ!" Pickle did his lover a favor and turned to greet the red truck and his driver in behalf of them.

"Hey, Pickle! Hey, Crusher!" Blaze greeted back as he came to a stop in front of them. "Where are you two off to?"

"On a picnic!" Pickle grinned and grabbed the basket from the other's tire. "It's such a beautiful day, so I thought, 'hey! Why not go on a picnic with my best friend?', so I did!"

"Cool!" AJ gave them a smile. "Can we join?"

Crusher was ready to reject, but Pickle stopped him with a tire and a wink. He then turned to the duo and shook his head.

"Maybe next time," he said. "I've only got enough food for two. Sorry,"

"It's alright, Pickle," Blaze nodded. "We gotta get to Darington for his stunt practice," He then turned to leave. "See ya guys later!"

"BYE!" Pickle waved them goodbye.

Crusher sighed in relief as they left. "Thanks, honey,"

"No problem," Pickle hugged the other. "Now let's get to our picnic date!"

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To say Crusher was nervous was an understatement. He had planned everything, from the beginning of the picnic until the end. The end, of course, had two paths to take, depending on Pickle's answer, but it was all planned.

Then why was he still trembling like a wind-up toy?

"Crusher, are you okay?"

Said dark blue truck snapped out of his worried-filled thoughts and turned to see the green stuck looking up at him with concern. Crusher blinked at him before nodding.

"Y-Yeah! I... I'm fine," he offered him a smile. "I'm great! Don't worry about me,"

"If you're sure..." Pickle didn't look convinced, but he turned away and grabbed some food to eat anyway.

Crusher sighed in relief and drove back a bit to get some distance. Once he was sure Pickle wasn't looking, he turned to take out a small box from his pouch and onto his tire.

"Sunset..." he reminded himself as he took a deep breath. "Ready at sunset..."

"Hey, Crusher!" he turned back to see the green truck munching on a large pie. "Mm! This is SO good! You gotta try it!"

"Coming!" the dark blue truck placed back the box in his pouch before driving over to his lover. "The pie is really good? It's cherry pie with chocolate syrup and whipped cream... just the way you like it,"

"I LOVE it!" Pickle licked his lips, stuffing his mouth with more pie.

Crusher smiled and snuggled up to the other with one tire while munching on his own slice on the other tire. He stared down his lover lovingly, not even bothering to care if the green truck was beginning to eat more than him. His thoughts were elsewhere.

Pickle seemed to notice his absence of mind and frowned. "Crusher?"

"Hmm?" Crusher was still dazed, but he managed to look down at him.

"Are you SURE you're okay?" Pickle tilted his head.

"Hmm? Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Crusher nodded and kissed his forehead. "I'm great,"

"Really?" Pickle raised an eyebrow. "You seem a little... overaffectionate today... not that I don't like it! It's just... I'm not used to it, that's all,"

"Just... feel affectionate today, that's all," Crusher nuzzled against his lover.

Pickle chuckled and nuzzled back. He prepared to close his eyes when something bright caught his attention in the sky. He popped his eyes open and gasped, pulling away to point up at the sky.

"Crusher, look! The sun is setting!"

'Oh no, ALREADY?!' Crusher gulped, his whole body tensing. 'Okay, OKAY, Crusher. CALM DOWN. You can DO this!'

With a deep breath, he took out the box from his pouch and rubbed it in both tires. He let out a shaky breath and cleared his throat.

"Um, Pickle?"

"Hmm?" Pickle turned back to him with the brightest smile the dark blue truck has ever seen.

Crusher took another deep breath and opened the box to reveal a tire ring, golden and filled with tiny diamonds and emeralds. Pickle gasped, eyes widening in surprise.

"Oh, Crusher..."

"Pickle, my love, my emerald, the source of happiness in my life," Crusher began with the softest, most loving smile the green truck has ever seen in his lover's face. "We've been together for so long, and you've always been there for me... even when I don't deserve your company. Even when I don't deserve... you. I am lucky to be with you, Pickle. You are the one that keeps me going, every day and every night. You are my brightest star, the only one who can bare with me and can love me more than any stranger we've met. For that, I'm grateful. Very, VERY grateful. I would be the happiest monster machine in ALL of Axle City if you accepted to be my one and only lover... forever,"

"Crusher..." Pickle was crying by now, tears of happiness as he wiped them with his tires. "Yes! Yes, Yes, YES! I WILL marry you!"

Crusher beamed. He slowly slid the tire ring into the other's tire, the gold tire ring glistening under the light of the sunset. He then took Pickle into his tires and proceeded to kiss him to infinity.

Their lives had now taken another step forward.


	4. Fears And Labor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost done! This thing has seven chapters! After that, I'm KINDA gonna need help choosing what BATMM story to write next XD
> 
> Enjoy!

  
Crusher and Pickle's engagement was private to everyone (even with the golden tire ring showing. Pickle excused it as wanting to wear some tire jewelry) but Crusher's Grammy, who was SO happy that she couldn't stop hugging them, and Pickle's entire family, who were so excited that they immediately threw an engagement party to celebrate. Neither trucks minded, though. They were glad to have support from both families (mostly Pickle's, of course).

By seven months, Crusher and Pickle went back to the doctor to know their baby's gender. They could've done that earlier, like... by four or five months, but Crusher was held up in a couple of races (which Pickle had insisted that he should attend to not gain suspicion from the other racers), and he DID NOT want to miss finding out his little one's gender.

When they got to the doctor, however, the baby gave THEM a BIG surprise.

"TWINS?!" Both their jaws dropped in shock. They CLEARLY weren't expecting THAT.

"Yes, twins!" the doctor happily repeated with a nod as she raised the picture for them to see. "Congratulations!"

"But... But how?!" Crusher stammered. "O-On the first month... one... w-what...?!"

"That's why Pickle should have come to me by his fourth month," the doctor shook her head. "On your first trimester, your body realized that the child was too big to deliver all at once, so it decided to give your child a twin before the fetus developed completely,"

"Woah... twins..." Pickle looked like he was about to faint. "I.. oh, my head..."

He began to drive backwards, prompting Crusher to grab him before he fell over. The doctor chuckled, placing a reassuring tire on the green truck.

"It's alright, Pickle," she told him. "Both babies are healthy and growing fine. Sure, the labor would be a little harder than it should be, but they're still healthy," She then placed the picture in a brown envelope and activated the x-ray again. "Do you want to see their genders now?"

Crusher and Pickle exchanged glances before turning to the doctor with a smile and a nod. She nodded in response and called for Crusher to come to her to leave Pickle under the x-ray. She showed the dark blue truck the black and white screen, her tire pointing to the small trucks forming inside of the green truck as she narrowed her eyes to observe and check.

"Ah, there ya go," the doctor took the screenshot and wrote down the notes. "Congratulations! One boy and one girl,"

"One boy?! One girl?!" Crusher gasped as the x-ray was turned off.

"YAY! YIPEE!" Pickle cheered, driving towards the other with the biggest smile on his face. "We have twin! And both genders! Isn't that amazing?!"

"It's... It's fantastic!" Crusher lifted Pickle into his tires (still keep remembering that they're trucks) and swung him around. "We have TWINS! WE'RE GONNA BE PARENTS OF TWINS!"

"I'm gonna call Grandpa!" Pickle cried out, taking out his phone. "And I'm gonna call all of my sisters and cousins!"

"And I'm gonna tell Grammy!" Crusher took out his phone too. "They're all gonna be SO surprised,"

And surprised they were. When the engaged trucks came back home, they were greeted with yet another celebration, this time to congratulate them with the twins and giving them more things they needed (twins meant two babies, after all).

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Soon, it was eight months. Crusher was hitting a panic mode, by then.

Since the discover of the twins, he had been extra, EXTRA careful. EXTRA protective too. Any chore that Pickle couldn't do and struggled to do because of the twins was Crusher's to do, and he had no complain. In fact, he began to do almost all of the chores (much to Pickle's own surprise) in the house. He even went grocery shopping by himself if it meant that Pickle would be safe and resting.

Grammy came by and helped every once and a while. So would Pickle's sisters and cousins. Lilly and Milly always offered to help with building and decorating the twins' room while Tilly and Frilly always offered to fix up whatever meal Pickle wanted because of his cravings whenever Crusher was out doing another chore or forced into another race (by Pickle, of course). Ben, Ken and Sven always offered clean the whole house, whenever they came by, not a spot dirty or messed up once their done.

This lessened Crusher's load a bit, but it didn't stop him from worrying. Worrying over how Pickle is doing, worrying over the twins, worrying over how obvious they were becoming, worrying over the other racers' reactions if they were to ever find out... he was really worrying about everything and anything lately. Not even Grammy's reassurance or Grandpa Pickle's efforts to distract him worked. Not even Gherkin (who was about four or five years old by then. This is five years since Blaze and AJ came to Axle City, remember?) could get the dark blue truck to stop worrying.

"Crusher, will you calm down?" Pickle sighed and patted the dark blue truck comfortingly.

"Pickle, you're eight months and almost ready to give birth. To TWINS, I may add," Crusher pointed out with a hiss. "You might be in labor in any second!"

"Crusher---" Pickle was cut off, however, when he felt something kick him. "Oh my,"

"WHAT?" Crusher looked panicked already, eyes wide and tires all shaky. "WHAT'S HAPPENING?! WHAT ARE YOU FEELING?! IS THE TWINS?! ARE THEY COMING OUT ALREADY?! ARE---"

"Crusher, SHUSH!" Pickle grabbed the dark blue truck's tire and placed it on his stomach.

Crusher was silent and confused for a moment until he felt a kick. "Oh my... is that...?"

"Uh-huh," Pickle grinned widely and nodded. "They're saying hi to their daddy!"

"Aww!" Crusher bent down to feel the kicking intensify. "Daddy's here, little ones! Oh yes, he is. Yes, he is!"

Pickle sighed in relief. At least he knew that among all of them, only the kids could distract their father from stress and worry.

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Two weeks later, Crusher had three races in the Monster Dome to attend that afternoon. Of course, he wasn't sure about attending. There were three races in a row, with only a few minutes for a break. He would barely have time to get something to eat or drink from the food stands before the next race starts, much less leave the place to take a break or see Pickle.

"Maybe... Maybe I should skip the last race, at least," Crusher suggested.

"Nonsense, Crushy!" Grammy waved him off. "Pickle and I will be fine!"

"Yeah, love," Pickle nodded in agreement, hugging his fiancé with a small peck. "We'll be fine, promise!"

"Alright, alright," Crusher let out a shaky breath but nodded and kissed his lover's head. "but if there's ANYTHING that happens, call me, alright?"

"We will, we will," Grammy assured her grandson with a smile. "We would only be in the hospital for Pickle's monthly check-up on the twins. Nothing too serious,"

"Alright..." Crusher sighed as they drove out of the house.

But something in his gut told him that the day was going to be anything but calm...

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"Hello again, Pickle," the doctor greeted as the green truck entered the room with Grammy. "Ready to check on the twins?"

"Yes!" Pickle grinned excitedly. "I can't wait to see them! They've been squirming around too much in there, and I wanna see what they're up to!"

"Are they, now?" the doctor's eyes widened. "Oh! That means that they're almost ready,"

"To come out? Already?" Grammy looked surprised. "Aren't they two weeks too early?"

"Yes... but it's natural for it to be at least a few weeks early," the doctor replied as she led them out into the halls. "Or if it's a week late. We won't know for sure until we see their positions,"

"Ah, okay---ow," Pickle hissed, a tire on his stomach as he stopped at the strange feeling. "Ow... that hurt..."

"Really?" the doctor turned to him and placed a tire on his shoulder. "How bad is the pain?"

"Really, really--- OW!" Pickle yelped, the feeling returning as he felt something sip down from his back legs. "Ack! It's worse than the other contractions!"

"Oh no," the doctor gulped and took out her phone. "I'm calling the emergency room!"

"Oh dear..." Grammy held the green truck for support. "Hold on there, Pickle, dear..."

"I CAN'T!" Pickle gasped, taking in deep breaths. "AAH! IT HURTS SO MUCH!"

Suddenly, truck nurses rushed into the hallway. One rolled a huge bed over, scooping Pickle up and taking him to the emergency. Grammy watched with concern before taking out her phone to tell her grandson the news.

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Crusher swallowed as he prepared for the race. He was worried and all panicky, looking around and checking the time every now and again, wishing that time would be faster.

But it wasn't any of the races he was nervous about. He was worried about Pickle. And the twins. And how they were doing. And if the twins were ready to come out yet. And if Pickle would be able to survive the labor---

"Crusher?"

Said dark blue truck yelped at the tire that suddenly his shoulder. He then turned to see Blaze and AJ looking over at him with concern.

"You okay?"

He hurriedly removed the tire and huffed, trying to hide his nerves. "Y-Yeah. I'm fine,"

"You sure?" Blaze tilted his head. "You look a little... nervous,"

"Me? Nervous? Ha!" Crusher rolled his eyes and began to drive away from the red truck. "Y-You wish! I'm just... I'm just SO impatient! Like, when's the race gonna start?!"

AJ and Blaze looked unconvinced by the response, their concerned expressions only worsening. Crusher PRAYED that they would just shrug off his strange attitude, but alas, luck was not by his side.

"Hey, Crusher, where's Pickle?"

Crusher froze. 'Okay, okay, what do I tell them??? We would always worry on what would they say if I missed a race, but we were never prepared to ask when PICKLE misses a race! Oh no, what do I say?! What do I tell them?!'

Before his mouth could process any answer, his phone rang. He sighed in relief and took it out.

"Sorry, gotta go!" he turned to drive off. "My Grammy's calling!"

He didn't hear them following him, thank goodness, as he made his way out of the dome and into an alley. He took a deep breath and opened his phone to answer the call.

"Grammy? Grammy, what's wrong?! What happened?!"

["Crushy, it's Pickle,"] his Grammy's voice digitally rang through his phone. ["He... He's in labor,"]


	5. Secret's Out!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Secret's about to be out! How do you think the other racers will react to Crickle and the twins??? And who's ready to see... the CRICKLE TWINS?! XD
> 
> Enjoy!

["He... He's in labor,"]

Those three words. The three words that Crusher had been worried about for the past few months. They sent him back, hitting himself on the wall behind him and causing him to stumble and fall. He dropped his phone as he felt his head spinning.

'Pickle? In LABOR?! ALREADY?! IT WAS TWO WEEKS EARLY! THAT CAN'T BE RIGHT!'

Before he knew it, he was hyperventilating, his breathing becoming unstable as he stared at the ground, eyes wide and panicky while his tires were trembling with the rest of his body. His thoughts of fear rang through his ears, deafening him to the point that he failed to hear both the sound of tires rolling his way and the sound of his name being called by his red rival and his rival's driver.

The one thing that managed to snap him out were two tires that had made it's way to his shoulders.

"CRUSHER!"

Said dark blue truck gasped, eyes going up from the ground to see Blaze holding him by the shoulders while AJ was dismounted from the driver's seat and was standing beside him. Both of their eyes were full of worry and concern as they stared up at him.

"Crusher, are you okay?" the red truck slowly asked.

"I..." Crusher felt his breath stop. Should he tell them? How could he trust them? He couldn't even trust his own parents! What else for the rivals that he had raced against and had cheated on at almost every race?

"Crusher?" AJ moved forward, placing a hand on the dark blue truck's tire. "Is there something wrong?"

"It's okay," Blaze offered him a smile, lowering one tire to give him some space. "You can tell us,"

'Can I really?' Crusher stared at them, untrusting and internally debating whether to say something or not while internally hoping that the two will get impatient with him and leave to prepare for the first race.

But they didn't. They stayed, waiting patiently for a response. They didn't leave his side and stared at him with the same expressions. Their faces didn't change, even when they all heard the announcer yell out from inside the Monster Dome that the first race was about to start in less than fifteen minutes.

'What should I do?'

Crusher felt their gaze softened, yet they never looked away. He gulped before sighing in defeat.

As if he could do anything to get out of this, anyway. He couldn't just shrug it all off and say that he was fine. Say that he was okay and everything was alright. It was obvious that it wasn't.

"It's... It's Pickle,"

"What about Pickle?" Blaze asked.

"Yeah, where is he?" AJ added with a nod.

"He... He's at the hospital," Crusher let out a shaky breath as the duo gasped. "Okay, okay! Let me start from the beginning,"

He took a deep breath and began to tell them everything that happened, starting with his and Pickle's relationship then the pregnancy and the proposal then the twins and finally, the recent; Pickle's early surprise labor. Once he was done, he shut his eyes as he waited for their reactions, expecting something like a yell or at least a disapproval (not that he cares. He totally doesn't care. Nope, definitely not).

But no yelling came. No scolding, no nothing. Crusher opened his eyes and found the two just looking at him in surprise while thinking deeply at the same time.

"I... guess that makes sense," Blaze finally said.

"Yeah," AJ agreed. "On why Pickle was looking larger than usual, why he suddenly got a tire ring, and why he doesn't seem to be present in any of the recent races,"

"Why didn't you tell us earlier?" Blaze tilted his head. "We could've understood and supported,"

"That's the thing!" Crusher sighed and looked down. "I thought that you guys wouldn't,"

"What?" AJ blinked at the dark blue truck. "Why would you think that?"

"Not all trucks in Axle City approve of... homosexual relationships," Crusher replied, eyes still on the ground. "There are others who... who disapprove or worse... they shame those couples terribly... like what my family did,"

"Your family shamed you and Pickle?" Blaze look horrified. "Why would they that?"

"They hate homosexuals, and they thought Pickle was a terrible choice," Crusher winced. "I fought against them, and they disowned me, kicking me out of our home. Pickle and I've been living together ever since, and only Grammy and everyone in Pickle's family knows where we live since they're the only ones who fully support us,"

"Oh, Crusher..." Blaze patted his rival on the back comfortingly. "I'm so sorry that happened to you. I wouldn't know how it feels to have my family not support my sexuality,"

"Your... what?" Crusher looked over at the other in disbelief. "I thought you were straight,"

"Nope, he's bi," AJ shook his head. "I'M straight, but I'm an LGBT supporter,"

"Really?" Crusher still didn't look convinced. "Since when?"

"Since... I don't know, exactly," Blaze shrugged. "I had a crush on Starla, but she and Watts got together. Darington used to like Watts, so we talked about it and somehow... ended up together too,"

"Huh," Crusher blinked. "Who knew?"

["Crushy?"] Crusher's Grammy's voice rang through the phone, suddenly catching their attentions as they turned to it on the floor. ["Crushy, are you stilll there?"]

"Grammy!" Crusher rushed to pick up his phone. "Yes, Grammy! Still here!"

["Oh good,"] Grammy smiled. ["Just wanted to tell you that Pickle's been rushed to the emergency. His labor might take a while, so I'm sure the twins won't be here until later. Go on and do your best in the races. I'm sure that's what Pickle might have wanted,"]

"But... But what about Pickle?" Crusher whined. He wanted to race, but not when his fiance and his kids were at stake.

["I'll be here to make sure that they're alright,"] Grammy assured him. ["Now go! You have a race to get to! See you here,"]

"But, Grammy---" Before he could protest, however, the call ended.

"Don't worry, Crusher," Blaze came over to his side with a reassuring smile. "If your Grammy's certain that Pickle's alright, I'm sure he is,"

"Besides, we've got a race to get to, and everyone would be wondering where we are," AJ jumped back into his best friend's driver's seat.

"I... alright," Crusher let out a sigh. "You guys won't... tell them about all this, would you? At least, not yet?"

"If you're not up for it then we won't," Blaze nodded.

"Thanks, Blaze, AJ..." Crusher finally cracked a smile, the tension in his shoulders lessening as he followed the two inside.

.................................

"How is Pickle?" Grammy asked the moment the doctor drove out of the emergency room.

"The labor is difficult, as it should be for a male, but he's handling it well," the doctor answered with a calm smile. "We'd use a C-section, but with Gabby racing with Watts at the Monster Dome and without another mechanic to fix him up after, it would be too risky,"

"So what will happen now?" Grammy frowned.

"We'll try to manage his labor for now," the doctor replied. "He can still hold it, and the twins are still good and healthy, so we'll be able to get him to calm for the labor to go on,"

"Alright, thank you," Grammy nodded and watched as the doctor left.

She let out a sigh, looking down at her phone. She was tempted to contact her grandson about what was happening, but she knew that he was panicking bad enough, and she wouldn't want to be the one to worsen it. Instead, she placed back her phone and drove back to the waiting room.

.................................

Crusher felt his heart thump quickly as he zoomed through the race track, but it wasn't because of the adrenaline of the race or the need to cheat to win the race.

It was his nerves again.

He was worried, very, VERY worried. His stomach kept churning, like it was warning him that something was happening. Like something... bad is about to happen. Or something had happened. To Pickle. To the twins.

"Crusher? You okay?" Blaze asked as he raced by his side.

"No!" Crusher shook his head. "I keep having a... a bad feeling about Pickle and the twins! It's... I just can't shake it off!"

"I know what'll distract you," AJ smiled and pointed front. "You and Blaze are nearly at the finish line!"

"Come on, Crusher!" Blaze called out to his rival with a grin. "Let's see who's the fastest to get there! No cheats, no blazing speed!"

Crusher knew they were trying to snap him out of his nerves, so he gave in and nodded. He accelerated to catch up to the red truck, forcing his mind to focus on the finish line and forcing himself to open up to his desire to win the race and beat Blaze instead of focusing on whatever was happening to his fiancé and his kids back at the hospital.

The two racers zoomed across the track, the crowd cheering their name (well, mostly Blaze's name). They soon zipped through the last turn and were now dashing to the finish line. Crusher was beginning to feel concentrated on the race, eyes narrowed to the finish line as he felt himself speed up faster and faster. The finish line was soon past him, and his eyes widened to realize that he had finished the race.

"And the winner is... CRUSHER!" the announcer cried out, followed by the crowd cheering.

"I... I won?" Crusher blinked in surprise as the trophy was handed to him. "H-Hey! I won!"

"Congratulations, Crusher!" Blaze patted the dark blue truck with a smile.

"I can't believe I won!" Crusher cheered. "Can't wait until I tell Pickle--- wait, PICKLE!"

His face went into immediate panic as he remembered his fiancé and his twins in possible critical condition. He began to hyperventilate, causing Blaze and AJ to exchange glances.

"Hey, hey, it's okay," Blaze assured him.

"There's been no call from your Grammy yet," AJ told him. "I'm sure Pickle and your kids are alright,"

"AJ's right," Blaze nodded. "How about we prepare for the next race?"

"I..." Crusher tried to keep his breathing steady as he nodded stiffly, throwing the trophy onto his back. "Mm-hmm,"

"It's only in a few minutes, so let's get some snacks first," Blaze suggested, leading the other to the food stalls.

.................................

"Excuse me? Ms. Grammy?"

Grammy looked up and drove over to see the doctor in distress. "What happened? What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry, but Pickle can't hold the twins in any longer," the doctor told her. "We're going to need a C-section, but we're going to do it carefully, so no oil leaks out and no gear gets lose,"

"Alright, thank you," Grammy nodded and waited for the doctor to leave before taking out her phone. "Alright, this has gone long enough. I need to call Crushy and tell him what happened,"

She took a deep breath and dialed her grandson's number. This call wasn't going to end well, but out of all the trucks in the hospital and in Axle City, Crusher was the one who deserved to know what was happening to Pickle and the twins.

.................................

Crusher had been stress-munching on a pretzel when his phone rang. He nervously swallowed what he was eating and shakily took the phone into his tire, calming his nerves down a bit to answer.

"H-Hello?"

["Crushy, it's Grammy,"] her grandmother's voice rang through the speakers. ["Pickle can't hold the twins any longer. The doctors need to do a C-Section, but it's a little risky because some oil might leak out and some gears might come lose, so---"]

"WHAT?!" Crusher dropped the phone and stumbled back.

"Crusher?!" Blaze quickly grabbed the dark blue truck before he could fall. "Crusher, what's wrong?"

"They... Pickle, he... mm..." Crusher whimpered with a groan. "They're gonna do a C-Section to let the twins out, but... but it's SO risky..."

"Oh..." Blaze and AJ exchanged glances as the red truck helped his rival back on his wheels. "Don't worry, Crusher. We can trust the doctors to be careful, right?"

"I'm sure Pickle and the twins will be alright," AJ nodded as he picked up the phone and handed it back to the dark blue truck. "And don't worry. It's only two more races then we can leave and head to the hospital,"

"I really, REALLY wish we don't have to wait THAT long..." Crusher whined. "I can't BARE the thought of Pickle in surgery, probably freaking out and in pain because of hours and hours of labor!"

"Hmm... I know!" Blaze beamed. "How about you think of winning the next race FOR Pickle and the twins?"

"What... What do you mean...?" Crusher's eyebrows furrowed.

"Well, instead of racing to distract you from Pickle and the twins, you should race FOR Pickle and the twins," AJ clarified with a nod. "It's easier if you have a better reason to race than just for distraction,"

"O... Okay..." Crusher took a deep breath and nodded. "I will race for Pickle and the twins... I will race for Pickle and the twins..."

"There ya go!" Blaze grinned. "Now let's get going! The race's about to start!"

Crusher gave a nod and followed his rival to the starting line. He took his place at the end of the line, his eyes in front and full of determination as the announcer called for the signal. At the 'go!', he revved his engine and dashed off.

His mind was buzzing, whispering fears and thoughts of what could be happening to Pickle and the twins in the hospital. He shook them off, however, and continued forward, determined to distract himself and to race FOR his new family instead.

"You're doing great, Crusher!" Blaze cheered as he raced by the dark blue truck's side.

"You ain't seen nothing yet, Blaze!" Crusher smirked, his old determination to beat his rival returning as he focused on the race. "Bet you can't beat me without using your blazing speed!"

"You're on!" Blaze felt relief once he realized that the other was FINALLY calm from his panic attack earlier. "Let's... BLAZE!"

.................................

Grammy paced around the waiting room. It had been a few hours since the doctor announced the C-Section. She knew that it would be a very risky procedure and that the doctors should take their time, and they should have patience to not commit any mistakes, but it was taking so long that it felt like there was something bad that happened in the middle of the surgery.

She shook her head out of that thought. No, everything was fine. Everything HAD to be fine, right?

Suddenly, the emergency siren rang through the whole hospital. Grammy jumped at the red lights swirling around the white surroundings, as did the rest of the trucks waiting in the waiting room.

"EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY!" A voice rang through the hospital's speakers. "WE ARE IN NEED OF MORE DOCTORS IN THE ER! MORE DOCTORS TO THE ER! I REPEAT; THIS IS NOT A DRILL! THIS IS AN EMERGENCY! WE NEED MORE DOCTORS IN THE ER!"

The other doctors were all alarmed and immediately rushed through the halls to head to the emergency room. Grammy gulped and looked around to find Pickle's doctor rushing out into the waiting room and to the front desk.

"I need someone to get in contact with Gabby!" she cried out. "This is NOT a drill! We are in need of Gabby's help!"

"Doc, what's the matter?" Grammy asked, rushing to her with worry. "What had happened to Pickle?"

"Him and the twins are losing too much, and the crack we made is too big," the doctor shook her head. "We're gonna need a mechanic to help fix him and the twins up before they lose too much oil and break any more parts,"

"Oh dear!" Grammy gasped.

"Don't worry, I'm sure Gabby can fix them," the doctor reassured her before driving through the halls to get back. "Doctors! NURSES! We need more doctors and nurses to help stabilize the patients before they lose too much!"

Grammy grimaced as she watched more doctors and nurses neglect their paperwork and rush off to help. She took out her phone and swallowed, half-tempted to call her grandson to tell him the news, but the last call didn't really end well, so she was having doubts on whether to call him to tell him the latest news about Pickle and the twins or not to not spark up another breakdown.

But she knew the news would get to him even without her help. Gabby was racing with Watts in the Monster Dome, after all.

.................................

Crusher took a deep breath as he lined up with the other racers for the last race. He and Blaze had tied (surprisingly) in the second race, causing the trophy to magically split into two for each of them to keep. Now, he was determined to win again.

"Ready for the last race, Crusher?" Blaze grinned at his rival.

"Oh, YEAH!" Crusher returned the expression as he gave the other with a side-glance. "I'm DEFINITELY going to beat you this time!"

"Racers, start your ENGINES!" the announcer called.

They all revved their engines, all eyes at the race track as they prepared to go. Before the announcer could say anything else, however, a phone rang out from where Watts was standing.

"Oops!" Gabby took out her phone to answer the call. "Hello? Oh! Okay, okay, I'll be right there!" She then hung up and looked down at the pink truck. "Sorry, Watts, but I've got to go. There's an emergency in the hospital that needs me,"

Crusher felt his heart stop at the news, eyes widening in horror. Emergency? AT THE HOSPITAL?! Oh no, no, no... PICKLE! THE TWINS! He KNEW that things weren't going to be well that day!

"It's alright, Gabby," Watts smiled. "I'll drive you over there,"

"You sure?" Gabby looked surprised. "You might miss the race,"

"It's alright. It's just a race," Watts backed up and turned. "See ya, fellas!"

The other racers waved her goodbye, sans Crusher, who was too frozen up in his thoughts to notice them leave. Blaze and AJ exchanged glances before the red truck patted the dark blue truck."Hey, it's okay, Crusher," he reassured him. "I'm sure that it's not THAT bad,"

"If they need a mechanic to help them out then something MUST be wrong!" Crusher began to feel all shaky and jittery again, his whole body trembling, all the way to his wheels as he gritted his teeth.

"Well... you've got a point," Blaze winced.

"That's IT! I'm sitting the race out!" Crusher turned to leave, but his rival stopped him.

"Crusher, NO!" Blaze grabbed him by the tire. "I know you're worried, but we both know that Pickle wouldn't want you to sit out a race JUST because of your fears and worries,"

"Besides, you don't want anyone to know, remember?" AJ reminded the dark blue truck. "If you leave now, everyone will wonder where you left off to, and we can't answer for you because we promised not to tell,"

"I... ugh! I hate it when you guys are right," Crusher groaned, forcing himself back on the line. "Alright. This is the last race anyway. I can hold in my worries and fears for ONE MORE RACE,"

"That's the spirit!" Blaze smiled.

"As soon as the race is over, we'll all head over to the hospital," AJ said.

"Wait, 'all'?" Crusher blinked at them in shock. "What do you mean by 'all'?"

"Well, Gabby and Watts would've found out by now," Blaze told him. "And the others would be wondering how they're doing, so we'd ALL have to go to the hospital,"

"I... ugh..." Crusher let out a groan and a sigh. "I can't believe this..."

"GET READY!" the announcer yelled out.

"Come on, Crusher," Blaze urged the other to focus. "We'll be right by your side when you tell them,"

"GET SET!"

"Promise?" Crusher didn't want to sound desperate, but in all honestly, he IS. Pickle and the twins were probably DYING, and he needed all the help and comfort he could get a the moment.

"Promise," Blaze nodded with a smile.

"AND... GO!"

With that, they all dashed off to start the race.

.................................

"We're here!" Gabby cried out as she and Watts burst into the hospital.

"Thank GOODNESS you're here, Gabby!" the doctor sighed in relief, driving towards them. "It's getting worse, and we don't know how to fix up the cut we made for the C-Section,"

"Alright," Gabby nodded and got off of Watts, toolbox in hand. "Lead the way!"

"Hop in. I'll lead the way," the doctor offered.

Gabby gave a nod and went into the truck's passenger seat then the doctor drove back into the emergency room. Watts watched them leave and found her way to the waiting room. She saw an elderly truck amongst the crowd of waiting trucks and patients, with a familiar design and build-up as she wore a big pink hat. She was knitting, her tires trembling in possible fear and worry, so the pink truck decided to approach her.

"Um, excuse me?"

The elder turned and smiled. "Oh, you must be Watts! Gabby's your driver, right?"

"Yes, that's me, and I just dropped her off to deal with the emergency," Watts nodded and went beside her. "How do you know me?"

"Pickle's shared many stories whenever I came to visit him and my Crushy," the elder said. "He always admired the other racers, even if he always followed my grandson around,"

Ah, that's why Watts thought she was so familiar. She was Crusher's Grammy!

"Oh, you're Crusher's grandmother," Watts blinked in surprise then she held out a tire. "Nice to meet you,"

"Likewise," Grammy's smile widened as she shook tires with the pink truck, but her smile faded as fast as it came. "I just wished that I could have met all of you racers in goo circumstances,"

"Why? What happened?" Watts asked, her expression turning to worry in an instant.

"My Crushy will explain everything later, I'm sure of it," Grammy assured her. "All I can tell you is that Pickle is dying because of a... a procedure, and that's why your driver was called to help fix him up,"

"Pickle? Dying?!" Watts's eyes widened.

"With Gabby to help, I'm sure the doctors can save his life," Grammy said before grimacing. "Well, hopefully. I told you that Crushy will explain everything later,"

"I sure hope so..." Watts hissed as she turned away. Pickle? Dying? Crusher sure owes them a big, BIG explanation for all this.

.................................

Crusher was revving his engine as he zoomed faster and faster. HIs determination to win the race was stronger now. He NEEDED to race to the finish line first. He NEEDED to get to the hospital IMMEDIATELY. He NEEDED to be there for Pickle and their twins.

He wasn't thinking any longer. He was racing, racing as fast as he can as he felt his heart thump hard and fast in his chest. He could barely his rival releasing his blazing speed as he dashed over the ramp and zoomed to the finish line.

Everyone cheered, the announcer yelling out his name as a victor, but he didn't heed it any attention. Instead, he grabbed the trophy and placed it on his back then he dashed out of the Monster Dome as fast as he can. A familiar horn followed behind him, along with more trucks zooming behind his rival in an attempt to follow him, but he heeded them with no care.

His vision was all hazed, his mind buzzed with thoughts as he zoomed through, turning from corner to corner and taking every ramp he could find to jump over any and every obstacle that got in his way. His priority was clear.

He needed to get to his new family, and he wasn't letting anything and anyone stop him.Soon, he made it to the hospital, bursting through the doors and making his way to the waiting room. From a distance, he spotted his grandmother and dashed faster.

"GRAMMY!"

"Crushy?" she turned to him in surprise, with Watts turning after. "You're here! How did the race go?"

"Grammy!" Crusher frowned.

"Hi, Ms. Grammy," AJ greeted as he, Blaze and the rest of the monster machines came from behind the dark blue truck. "Is Pickle alright?"

"No news yet since Gabby came to help," Grammy offered them a smile.

"Pickle? What's wrong with Pickle?" Darington asked, looking around for someone to answer.

"He's dying!" Watts blurted out with a hiss, causing everyone to gasp and Crusher to pale.

"What?!" Stripes cried out.

"What happened, Crusher?!" Starla demanded, turning to glare at the dark blue truck. "Why is Pickle dying?!"

Crusher didn't answer. He instead turned to his grandmother with a desperate expression. Grammy sighed.

"The doctor hasn't come out yet since Gabby went in," she told him, patting him on the shoulder. "We just have to be patient, Crushy,"

"I've been patient for the WHOLE time I was racing!" Crusher shook his head. "I don't know how much longer I can be patient!"

"It's alright, Crusher," Blaze assured him. "I'm sure with Gabby helping out, the operation will be finished soon,"

"Look, it's the doctor!" AJ pointed to the truck coming out from the emergency room.

"Hello, everyone," the doctor looked exhausted, but she managed to flash a smile at them anyway. "Good news; Pickle is stabilized!"

The group cheered, with Crusher sighing in relief and falling into his grandmother's tires. Gabby soon came out, a little pale and looking like she had seen a ghost.

"You all wouldn't believe how much oil was spilled from the operation," she shook her head. "but thankfully, Pickle's alright,"

"And he needs some rest before getting any visitors," the doctor added. "but the twins are all cleaned up and at the nursery. Would you like to see them?"

"Twins?" Everyone but Blaze, Grammy, Crusher and AJ all cried out in surprise.

"Really?!" Crusher looked eager, excited and nervous as he grinned widely. "Yes, yes, YES, PLEASE! TAKE ME TO THEM! PLEASE!"

"Right this way then," the doctor lead the way, and Crusher and Grammy followed after her, with the dark blue truck rushing faster than his grandmother as they made their way through the halls.

"Come on, guys," Blaze called on the others. "Let's go see the twins,"

"What twins, Blaze?" Stripes asked as Gabby hopped onto Watts before following their friend through the hospital halls.

"We can't say," Blaze replied. "It's not really our business to say. Crusher'll tell you all when he's ready,"

"Yeah, and when he's not frantically shaking in excitement," AJ chuckled.

Starla, Zeg, Darington, Stripes, Watts, and Gabby exchanged doubtful glances, but they trusted their friends enough to nod and keep silent all the way to the nursery. The doctor opened the nursery door and motioned them to follow her with a smile, adding up an extra motion to be quiet as they entered. Crusher looked around, nervous and excitement written in his actions as he drove forward.

"Here they are," the doctor whispered, leading them to two cribs, where two baby trucks were bundled up in blankets.

One baby truck was shaped almost exactly like Crusher. It was a girl, and she was ocean blue with lime green markings all over her body and two dark green stripes at each side of her hood. The other baby truck was shaped almost exactly like Pickle. It was a boy, and he was aquamarine with two dark blue stripes over his hood while the sides of his body had a few pickle bumps.

"Aww!" the trucks all cooed as Grammy picked them up gently in her tires.

"They're SO adorable!" she then turned to her grandson. "Would you like to hold them, Crushy?"

"M-Me?!" Crusher gulped but went over to take the two in his tires anyway. "O-Okay..."

Grammy gave them to her grandson, helping him to adjust his tires to hold them properly. Crusher felt them squirm in his hold, causing him to freeze up, but a pat from his grandmother made him calm down as the twins slowly opened their eyes. This caused the other trucks coo again.

"Babies so cute!" Zeg cried out.

"They sure are!" Starla agreed.

"They're adorable, Crusher," Blaze grinned. "What are their names?"

"I... I don't know..." Crusher stared down at the babies and smiled. "I... I bet Pickle's got some good ideas to use for their names,"

"Speaking of Pickle, I better check on him to see how he's doing," the doctor offered before turning to leave the nursery.

Once she was gone, the friends glanced at one another with a nod. Blaze and AJ caught their eyes but didn't say anything, which allowed them to drive forward towards the dark blue truck.

"Crusher, we kinda need an explanation now," Stripes spoke up first.

"Yeah, Crusher explain why Pickly dying," Zeg agreed. "And who babies mommy and daddy?"

Crusher took in a deep, nervous breath before turning to them. "O... Okay... first of all, Pickle and I are... we... erm... We're together,"

"Really?" Watts didn't seemed surprised, neither were the others. "As... boyfriends?"

"Not... anymore," Crusher flinched, his fear to their reactions returning. "He... We... I proposed to him months ago,"

"So THAT'S why Pickle was wearing a tire ring," Gabby gasped. "Congratulations, Crusher!"

"Yeah, congrats!" Starla nodded with a grin, patting the dark blue truck on the back.

This caught Crusher off-guard. His eyes widened as he looked around to find the others with happy and excited expressions, sans Blaze and AJ, who each had a 'we told you' expression. He blinked at them with a bewildered look.

He never expected them to react so... positively.

"You... guys don't mind?"

"You guys weren't really good at hiding," Darington chuckled. "but we expected you guys to be boyfriends at least,"

"Oh..." Crusher swallowed. "And... it's not a bad thing...?"

"Starla and I have been together for almost a year," Watts smiled. "There's nothing wrong with being not straight,"

"Wow... I didn't know that..." Crusher sighed.

"I told you that not everyone can be as harsh and as bias as your parents, Crushy," Grammy patted his back with a smile.

"What about the kids?" Stripes questioned.

"Yeah, how Crusher and Pickle get babies?" Zeg tilted his head, confused.

"Honestly, I have no idea either," Crusher answered. "It just... happened. We... We DID do something, but we have no idea how Pickle was able to get pregnant in the first place. Grandpa Pickle said that it was natural for their family, though, so... yeah, I think it's either from his blood or a miracle given to us,"

"Wow, I never knew males can get pregnant before," Gabby blinked in surprise. "But then, this a new kind of truck anatomy, so..."

"So when is the wedding?" Blaze asked with a grin.

"Yeah, when's the wedding?!" Darington nodded in agreement. "Are we invited?! Can we be invited?!"

"Yeah, can we?!" Stripes was practically begging. "I LOVE weddings!"

"Well... since you guys did accept me..." Crusher offered them a smile. "Sure. Pickle and I would love to have you all at the wedding,"

"We'd all love to come!" Starla grinned.

"Excuse me?" the group turned to see the doctor come in. "Pickle is stable and awake now. Would you all like to see him?"

"Can the twins see their mother too?" Crusher asked, driving forward.

"Of course, of course," the doctor smiled and nodded. "Come,"

.................................

Pickle groaned as he tried to keep himself still on the bed. His whole body hurt, burning in pain, especially his stomach. It wasn't really a surprise since the doctors had to literally slice his stomach in half to get the twins out before they died. At least Gabby helped fix the cut and repaired him before he could lose too much oil and gear.

Didn't really lessen the pain, though. Unlike human surgeries, trucks didn't really have any anesthetics to numb the pain. Only a temporary knock-out gas to knock him out, so he couldn't feel anything until the effect wore off.

"Pickle?" There was a sudden knock at the door, and Pickle turned to see the doctor peeking from the door.

"Hey there, doc!" he greeted her with a weak wave.

"Hey there, Pickle," the doctor smiled and opened the door completely. "How are you? I've brought some of your friends over,"

"Hey, Pickle!" Blaze greeted as he, AJ, Darington, Gabby, Watts, Starla, Stripes, and Zeg came in, each greeting the green truck.

"Guys! You're here!" Pickle's eyes widened in surprise.

"Of course we're here," AJ laughed. "After Gabby and Watts missed the last race for your surgery, we had to go and see if you're okay,"

"And after Crusher explained everything, we all reckoned that you both needed some friend support," Starla added with a grin.

"Crusher... told you guys what happened?" Pickle blinked in surprise. "And you guys don't... don't mind?"

"Starla and I are together," Watts chuckled. "So are Blaze and Darington, so it's no big deal,"

"They accept you and Crushy just fine," Grammy said as she made her way to the green truck's side. "And they're excited for the wedding as much as your family is,"

"I... THANK YOU, GUYS!" Pickle beamed. "I'm so happy to have friends like you all!"

"We're happy to have you as friends too," Darington grinned.

"Hey, love," the group turned to see Crusher slowly drove forward, with the twins in his tires. "How are you?"

"Hey, sweetie," Pickle smiled softly at him as he came to his side. "I'm fine. Well... better now. Still a little sore, though,"

"That's great," Crusher returned the smile and moved forward to let his fiance see their newborn twins. "Wanna see them?"

Pickle nodded and leaned over. He cooed at the sight of them, reaching over to slowly take the baby trucks into his arms.

"They're so ADORABLE!" Pickle gently pulled them into a hug. "I love them already,"

"They're hard to unlove," Crusher chuckled, leaning closer to rest his head softly on the other's bed. "What do you wanna name them?"

"Hmm... I can think for a name for the boy," Pickle shrugged. "A little hard for the girl,"

"I kinda got one," Crusher offered, eyes glancing at the blue and green baby truck. "Terra, because she looks like the Earth,"

"Pretty name," Pickle nodded in approval then he turned to the aquamarine baby truck. "I wanna call this one... Aquario. What do you think?"

"Love it," Crusher pressed a kiss on his fiance's cheek. "I love you all,"

The group watched the scene from the distance.

It was too beautiful to interrupt anyway.


	6. Wedding Mission Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, the last chapter was longer than I thought. At least this is shorter. I hope XD
> 
> UPDATE! NOPE IT'S LONGER! IT'S LONGER AS HELL BECAUSE OF THE TRANSITIONS! HELPA ME! DX IMMA SPLIT THIS INTO TWO PARTS!
> 
> Also, surprise! I made Blaze and Crusher best buds! Well, little by little, of course. From the last chapter to this one, they've really bonded well enough to be great friends! Yippee!
> 
> Enjoy!

It had been 4 months since Pickle's labor. It gave Pickle time to rest enough to help plan their wedding. Crusher was already planning it, with the help of Blaze, AJ, Darington, Gabby, Starla, Watts, Stripes, Zeg, and all of Pickle's family. Once Pickle started to join in the planning, Grammy came to their place and watched over the twins until they came home.

  
The girls made sure Pickle got everything needed for his role as the 'bride', with his sisters Lilly, Milly, Tilly, and Frilly dragging him around to help him pick out the wedding dress. Starla, Watts and Gabby were chosen as the bridesmaids and were more than happy to help out with their role in the wedding ceremony. Gherkin was the flower girl, and she was more than happy to help pick flowers for the bouquets with her older brother and sisters.

  
The boys did the rest of the work, with Pickle's cousins Ben, Ken and Sven arranging everything and cleaning everything up joyfully. Stripes had been in charge of the guestlist, Darington of food and Zeg as the entertainer during the reception. AJ was chosen as the MC for the reception while Blaze just zoomed around to try to help as much as he can, even going as far as helping Crusher decide what suit to where.

  
Soon, it was the day of the wedding, and Crusher was faced with a difficult decision, along with a few other things.

  
"Oh man!" he began to panic in his dressing room, hyperventilating and wheezing. "How can I forget?!"

  
"Hey, Crusher!" Blaze came in, wearing a suit and a tie already with AJ in his driver's seat. "You okay?"

  
"NO!" Crusher shook his head. "The wedding cake's still at the bakery, I left my suit at the cleaners, and I forgot to buy a tie for my suit!" He then remembered another thing. "AH! I forgot to choose best men for the wedding ceremony! And I've got other things to do before the wedding starts! What am I gonna do?!"

"Take it easy, Crusher," AJ consoled him.

  
"Yeah, we'll get your suit, your tie AND the cake!" Blaze offered.

  
"Thanks..." Crusher took a deep breath to try to calm himself. "At least things can't get any worse---"

  
"Oh, Crushy!" Suddenly, Grammy entered the room, dragging with 4-months old Terra and Aquario in their strollers with one tire and holding out her phone with another. "I've got news!"

  
"Grammy!" Crusher rushed over, greeting his twins with a pat and a kiss for each of them. "And hello, my precious angels!" He then turned to his grandmother. "What's the big news, Grammy?"

  
"Guess who got the news of your marriage?" Grammy handed the phone to her grandson. "Krisha and Calvin!"

  
"They... WHAT?!" Crusher's smile faltered into a horrified expression as he stared at the messages. "GRAMMY!"

"Krisha and Calvin?" Blaze and AJ exchanged confused glances. "Who are they, Crusher?"

  
"My parents." Crusher hissed. "Grammy, why did you invite them? Don't you remember what happened LAST TIME? You were RIGHT THERE when it happened,"

  
"Don't worry, Crushy, I'm sure they've changed," Grammy assured him, rubbing a tire down his cheek soothingly. "Besides, I haven't told them who you were marrying,"

  
"That's a relief," Crusher sighed, groaning. "My wedding is still DOOMED!"

  
"Hmm, I wonder why your parents hate non-straight relationships so badly," AJ spoke.

  
"Hey, maybe we can find out!" Blaze's eyes lit up with an idea. "How about we meet your parents before the wedding and take them around for a drive to find out why they hate it so much?"

  
"But... what about the other things who offered to help with?" Crusher asked.

  
"We could multitask," Blaze smiled. "We can get your parents to help us with the things needed to be done,"

  
"Alright, but the cake's last," Crusher told him. "Clive said something about it missing something on top that he still needs to figure out,"

  
"Alright!" Blaze nodded then he turned to Grammy. "Grammy, do you know where to meet up with Crusher's parents?"

  
"At the train station," she gave them a smile. "I just sent them a text that you're on you way,"

  
"To the train station!" Blaze announced. "AJ, gimmie some speed!"

  
AJ nodded and turned on his blazing speed before stepping on the pedal, causing Blaze to zoom out of the room. Crusher jumped out of the way, watching the red truck dash out.

  
"Good luck!"

  
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"Hey, Blaze!" Darington greeted as his boyfriend came to a stop in front of the train station elevator.

  
"Hey, Darry!" Blaze smiled and pecked the other's cheek. "What are you doing here?"

  
"Crusher just gave me permission to do a stunt at reception tonight!" Darington beamed, holding out a couple of hoops in his tire. "I'm gonna do a triple summersault heading loops of fire extravaganza!"

  
"Uh..." Blaze looked unsure. "maybe get some fire extinguishers while you're at it, Darry..."

  
"Good idea!" Darington grinned and drove off. "And some paddings, a more fire-proof helmet, fire-proof cape---"

  
"I can't believe you stayed calm," AJ blinked at his best friend in surprise. "I was SURE that you'd panic at the 'fire' part of the stunt,"

  
"I am panicking, but I know Darington loves his stunts, so I just wanna be the supportive boyfriend with a fire extinguisher and a huge pillow for him to crash-land on in case something wrong happens," Blaze told him with a shudder. "Besides, that stunt is for tonight. We still got lots of things to do before worrying over it,"

  
"Right," AJ nodded as the red truck made his way to the elevator to the train station.

  
They soon made their way to the train station, waiting for the train to come. It took a while, but the train came, stopping with a slide. The doors opened to reveal two monster trucks, each looking like Crusher. One was a male and was dark violet, with the flame light pattern of lavender, while the other was female and was coal black, with a swirling light of silver.

  
"Hi there!" Blaze greeted them with a smile. "I'm Blaze, and this is my driver AJ,"

  
"Are you Crusher's parents?" AJ asked.

  
"Why yes, we... are," the male replied in a british tone, holding his tire out all fancy. "I am Calvin, and this is my wife Krisha,"

  
"We are not only Crusher's... biological caretakers, but we are also the owners of the richest companies of all the world!" the female, Krisha, bragged, her light british tone surprisingly sharp. "so us being here in this... Axle City is such an honor for you all,"

  
"Definitely Crusher's parents..." AJ muttered, tone low and nearly silent.

  
Blaze overheard him and silently agreed. He forced to widened his grin, trying to keep himself from rolling his eyes as he drove forward.

  
"Nice to meet you both!" he said. "We're here to take you to the wedding venue!"

  
"Good!" Calvin smiled, but it was nothing like Crusher's sinister one. It looked worse. "Escorts are what us rich business trucks need!"

  
'Oh, I swear---!' Blaze held in a groan. Crusher was bearable enough. His parents? Argh...

  
"But FIRST, Crusher had asked us to get a few things," AJ told them. "He's also got some stuff to do, so he wants us to return AFTER we get the things he needs,"

  
"Fine, fine," Krisha groaned. "but only because we know what is fabulous and what is not for a perfect wedding!"

  
They soon drove into the elevator. Once they were already inside, and the doors were already closed, Blaze finally was able to roll his eyes.

  
"And I thought Crusher bragging about something he's actually good at could be unbearable," he hissed.

  
"Remember why we came to meet them," AJ reminded him. "We need to figure out why they hate his sexuality,"

  
"I don't blame Crusher if he hates them, though," Blaze groaned. "They're REALLY unbearable..."

  
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"Okay, okay, don't panic!" Crusher told himself as he breathed into a paper bag. "I've got PLENTY of time before the wedding!"

  
"Crusher?" Gabby asked as she came in with Watts. "Something wrong?"

  
"YES!" Crusher threw away the paper bag and began to panic. "SO MANY TRUCKS ARE COMING TO THE WEDDING! I mean, I know Pickle wanted to finally tell our secret, so that we could FINALLY settle things in peace, but There ARE TOO MANY! ALMOST ALL OF AXLE CITY'S COMING TO THE WEDDING! I... I DON'T KNOW IF I CAN HANDLE THAT MANY TRUCKS IN ONE PLACE!"

  
"Woah, take it easy," Watts patted the other on the back.

  
"Yeah, Crusher, I'm sure things are going to be okay!" Gabby offered the dark blue truck a smile. "Everyone seemed to be genuinely excited with the wedding, anyway,"

  
"Everyone but my parents." Crusher hissed, shaking his head. "Good thing they never brought my sister with them,"

  
"Your sister?" Watts repeated, curious. "Who she?"

  
"Dynama, my older sister. One of the fastest and probably the best cheater ever when it came to races," Crusher shrugged, obviously not comfortable with the topic. "She got arrested when she set the whole race course on fire and caused a pole to almost fall onto the audience. Some racers were killed. Most badly injured. She was charged with murder, but our parents still supported her case to set her free. Well, attempting to, anyway,"

  
"Woah," Gabby's jaw dropped. "Your sister sounds like... like a monster,"

  
"Oh, things could be worse," Crusher bitterly chuckled. "I was in that race, but... but my parents only cared for her, so they didn't bother to ask if I was okay,"

  
"Were you hurt?" Watts questioned.

  
"Yes, but... but Grammy helped me get fixed up, so it's fine," Crusher let out a shaky breath. "Can... Can we not talk about Dynama, please? I'm just glad that she's not attending the wedding,"

  
Watts and Gabby exchanged glances, but they didn't say anything else. They were going to have to tell the others about this, though.

  
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"Here we are," Blaze announced as they came to the cleaners.

  
"THIS is where Crusher left his suit?" Calvin looked unimpressed. "What a horrid place!"

  
"Don't be so surprised, honey," Krisha huffed. "This is CRUSHER we are talking about. I'm surprised that someone managed to love that... that unlovable, unloyal truck,"

  
AJ was about ready to get out of the driver's seat after those words left her mouth. Blaze managed to stop him, forcing in another grin as he opened the door to the cleaners. They went in to find many clothes selection (truck sizes, of course).

  
"Blaze! AJ!" the truck at the cleaners greeted them with a smile. "What can I get you two?"

  
"Crusher needs his suit for the wedding, Pedro," AJ replied, returning the smile as he steered his attention AWAY from the snobs.

  
"Ah! Of course!" Pedro grabbed something from a rack and handed a well-ironed, neatly covered suit to the duo. "About time they tied the knot, huh?"

  
"Totally!" Blaze laughed before being interrupted by a cough.

  
"ExCUSE me, but aren't you going to introduce us?" Krisha asked, coldly and bitterly.

  
"Of course! Where are our manners?" AJ gritted his teeth but kept the smile in his face. "Pedro, this is Calvin and Krisha,"

  
"They're Crusher's parents," Blaze added.

  
"No time for chit-chat!" Calvin scowled, turning to leave.

  
"That's right!" Krisha nodded in agreement. "We came to pick up the suit and that's final! I can't stand this... this HIDEOUS pace!"

  
The two then left the cleaners. Pedro rolled his eyes.

  
"How are you two bearing this?" he asked the two, who took the suit to store. "I mean, even Crusher is more bearable than this,"

  
"We promised him that we'd get his parents to accept Pickle as his future husband," Blaze explained.

  
"They hate homo couples," AJ sighed.

  
"Aw, that is sad," Pedro frowned. "Crusher and Pickle are great couple. Little Terra and Aquario have great parents. If I was Crusher's father, I be very, VERY proud!"

  
"Their richness gets in their heads before family, apparently," Blaze shook his head then he turned to drive off. "Well, we gotta go. See ya at the wedding!"

  
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"Hey there, sweetpea," Starla pecked his girlfriend's cheek as she and the others met up behind the wedding venue. "What's with the meet-up?"

  
"We just found out something about Crusher's family," Gabby said, hopping off of Watts.

  
"What's more to know?" Darington asked. "I mean, we already know that his parents hate gay couples,"

  
"Well, there IS more to know, apparently," Watts sighed. "Turns out that he has a sister,"

  
"He does?!" Stripes's eyes widened. "Do I need to update the guestlist?!"

  
"No, no, it's fine, Stripes," Gabby assured him. "There's no need to put her in the guestlist,"

  
"Crusher's sister already in guestlist?" Zeg guessed, tilting his head.

  
"No," Watts shook her head. "She isn't coming at all,"

  
"Why not, my Spark?" Starla looked confused. "I thought she was Crusher's sister,"

  
"She's in prison, for murder and murder attempts," Gabby told them, causing them to gasp.

  
"Oh, well, that makes sense why she's not coming," Darington frowned. "How, though?"

  
"She set a whole race course on fire," Watts explained. "Some were killed while others were injured. Crusher was one of the injured ones,"

  
"Oh! I think I remember that one," Stripes's eyes lit up in realization. "My cousin Prider was in that race too. He was hurt pretty badly. He told the family that one of the racers tried to kill them with fire and that he and his best friend tried their best to survive. Dynama, as I remember, got arrested, but her family was arrogant and spoiled, and they've been trying to get her out of prison... even up 'til now,"

  
"Dynama IS Crusher's older sister," Gabby confirmed.

  
"Zeg no like Dynama," Zeg shuddered. "Dynama sound scary,"

  
"Good thing that psycho ain't comin' to the wedding," Starla sighed in relief.

  
"But she may CRASH it," Darington pointed out.

  
"Darington's right," Gabby nodded. "Everyone around the world probably know about Crusher and Pickle's wedding by now, thanks to Blaze and AJ. She might break out of prison to crash it, so we have to be prepared,"

  
"I'll tell Blaze to report to Officer Anna about security for the wedding," Stripes offered then he turned to drive off.

  
"The rest of us will have to keep our eyes open and our guards up in case she comes to ruin anything," Starla grinned then they dismissed the meeting and drove away to head back to their wedding duties.

  
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"The mall?" Krisha's eyes lit up. "Oh! I cannot wait to buy a perfect outfit for the wedding! I need something... formal! Something... absolutely stunning!"

  
"Blaze, I don't know how much more of this I can take...!" AJ whispered to his best friend.

  
"Just... hang in there," Blaze gave him comforting grin. "Just a little while longer. We need to figure out why they hate homo relationships, remember?"

  
"Yeah, but they themselves are SO unbearable!" AJ hissed.

  
"Shh!" Blaze hushed him then he turned to head into the mall. "Alright, we just need a bow tie to match the suit for Crusher,"

  
"A tie? Too traditional!" Calvin huffed as they followed the red truck inside.

  
"I agree!" Krisha nodded. "A red flower on the coat is much more elegant than a bow-tie,"

  
"Or a necktie," Calvin added. "Perhaps a green one to clash with his color?"

  
"Oh, heavens, NO!" Krisha disagreed. "It will make me remember that time he became a... argh, a faggot. It was the most disgusting thing ever!"

'An opportunity!' AJ sighed in relief. "What do you mean, Ms. Krisha?"

  
"Yeah, what happened?" Blaze asked, acting oblivious.

  
"It was horrid!" Calvin gagged. "Years ago, Crusher came to us and asked if we could meet his lover. We said yes since we didn't really need to care who he dated,"

  
"We thought that we could bribe whatever female he was dating with money to not date that... waste-of-a-son of ours," Krisha added with a groan and a shudder. "But apparently, he was dating that... that even MORE disgusting green male truck called... Cucumber, was it?"

  
"You mean Pickle?" Blaze guessed, still acting innocent. "He's a friend of ours,"

  
"Who could ever befriend a male like... like that?" Calvin shook his head. "First of all, he's childish, too imaginative, too immature, too ugly, too naive, a middle class, and he's a MALE!"

  
"The MALE part is the most important point," Krisha clarified. "He could never have children, thus Crusher would never have an heir when he inherits the company. Well, as if any of us have any choice now, anyway,"

  
THAT part got Blaze's attention. Before he could ask, however, there was a sound of ringing.

  
"Blaze, we've got a call," AJ told him.

  
Blaze nodded and excused himself from his 'company' then he turned to drive over to a more secluded in the mall. Once he and AJ were alone, the driver answered the call.

  
"Hey, Stripes, what's up?"

  
["We just got news,"] Stripes answered. ["Turns out that Crusher has an older sister named Dynama, who's in prison after burning an entire race course and killing a few racers. We're a little wary that she may try to escape prison and ruin the wedding!"]

  
"Oh no!" AJ gasped.

  
"Don't worry, Stripes. We won't let that happen," Blaze assured the tiger truck.

  
"Thanks for the warning, though," AJ smiled. "We'll tell Officer Anna about it,"

  
["Alright, thanks fellas!"] With that, the call ended.

  
"Do you think Ms. Krisha and Mr. Calvin know about this?" Blaze asked.

  
"Most likely," AJ groaned before taking out his tablet. "I'll message Officer Anna about it to help with security,"

  
Blaze nodded then he started to drive back to the two trucks. As he did, he started to think about what Krisha and Calvin said about Pickle, about his and Crusher's relationship and about their relationship with their son. He had restrained himself when the pair had insulted their green truck friend then he had to keep himself from screaming and scolding at them when they disgusted and shamed Crusher for his choice of sexuality.

  
He couldn't even imagine having parents like them in all his life. How did Crusher even bare them growing up?

  
"Blaze?" The boy's voice brought the red truck back into reality. "You okay?"

  
"I... I just..." Blaze sighed. "I'm not sure we can help Crusher change his parents' minds about homo couples,"

  
"What makes you say that?" AJ frowned. It was odd to see his best friend like this. He doesn't usually give up.

  
"Look at them, AJ," Blaze pointed to the two rich trucks, who were making who-knows-what comments at every truck that passed them. "They hate Crusher to the core, hate every trucker they see, only seem to care about themselves, AND they don't seem to care that their daughter had nearly killed lots and lots of racers in a race. I don't think they would care, even with our efforts. They'd still try to ruin the wedding the moment they see Pickle... especially in his wedding dress,"

  
"We can still try," AJ assured him. "We can try and try again. We've got plenty of time before the wedding,"

  
"I... I guess," Blaze gave him a smile. "Alright, let's go and try again. I'm sure they have a soft spot somewhere,"

  
"That's the spirit!" AJ grinned.

  
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"Oh man!" Crusher whimpered as he slammed his face on the table. "It's almost time for the wedding... and I haven't chosen any best man yet!"

  
"I'm sure you would be able to decide before the wedding, Crushy," Grammy came over and patted him on the back. "There are many friends you can choose from,"

  
"Not that close with any of them," Crusher sighed. "Pickle's the only one I've got, and I don't wanna bother any of his cousins with the duties because that would already be asking too much of them..."

  
Grammy shook her head and turned to her great-grandchildren, who cooed and tried to reach out for their father. She smiled and took them in her tires before driving forward to hand them over.

  
"Crushy..."

  
"Hmm?"

  
"I think Terra and Aquario want to cheer up their daddy,"

  
Crusher turned and smiled, taking the two baby trucks in his tires before smothering them with kisses. Terra and Aquario all squealed in response, happily taking in their father's attention.

  
"Aww, thanks you two," he chuckled. "I really wish your grandparents accept you as much as your great-grandmother does,"

  
"I wish too," Grammy sighed. "but we cannot hold onto many miracles,"

  
"Just hope they haven't stressed out Blaze and AJ with all their... 'manners'," Crusher grimaced. "Or anyone else, for that matter,"

  
"Blaze and AJ are quite noble for helping you out with your parents," Grammy pointed out with a smile.

  
"They sure are..." Crusher admitted, his mind suddenly running into a train of thought...

  
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"Tie for the suit? Done!" AJ announced as they drove out of the mall. "Now we just need one last thing..."

  
"The Wedding Cake!" Blaze beamed.

  
"Finally! Something traditional yet elegant!" Krisha seemed to approve the last task. "How many layers is there? 10? 25?"

  
"Oh! Or 100?" Calvin grinned. "We had always taught Dynama and Crusher to get things that are bigger, for bigger is always better!"

  
"Huh, Crusher never told us how many layers he did for the cake," Blaze told them.

  
"Or what flavor it was," AJ added. "Or what it looks like, but our friend Clive the baker knows. He's completing the cake right now,"

  
"He better be a professional," Calvin huffed. "I would hate to see a second-rated, small wedding cake at the wedding,"

  
"I would," Krisha laughed mockingly. "It would be a GREAT opportunity to correct our pathetic son on what is right and what is wrong!"

  
AJ growled, but he managed to restrain himself, gripping tightly to the steering wheel. Blaze hissed, forcing himself to smile as he focused on driving towards the bakery. How they were able to hold themselves, they had no clue.

  
How did these two become so rich with attitudes like this?

  
They soon found their way to the bakery. They entered to find the place empty.

  
"Clive?" Blaze looked around. "You in here?"

  
"Over here, Blaze!" A waving tire from the kitchen got their attention. "I'm just finishing up the cake!"

  
Blaze nodded and drove forward. Krisha and Calvin looked around at the empty bakery before gagging.

  
"This place is horrid!" Krisha screeched. "Empty and no service at all! How can they let the place stand when it is so empty with no customer service whatsoever?!"

  
"This isn't some restaurant, with all the waiters and everything." AJ gritted his teeth. "It's a bakery."

  
"And it's empty since everyone got ready for Crusher's wedding," Blaze added, a little softer than his best friend's voice. "It's a pretty big event for everyone since he's a pretty famous and fast racer like the rest of us,"

  
"Fast? Ha!" Calvin rolled his eyes. "I doubt that. He has never won a race by himself,"

  
"Especially since his boosters were... out of commission," Krisha darkly grinned. "And who wins the natural way? Cheating is always the easiest way to win and get whatever you want. Those who race the normal way are cowards and goody-four-tires!"

  
'Well, now we know where Crusher gets his... ways of cheating.' AJ shook his head.

  
Blaze's attention, however, wasn't on the cheating part. He expected that from Crusher's family. He didn't expect what Krisha had spoken about first.

  
"Crusher had... boosters?"

  
"Something he was born with," Calvin shrugged. "but since Dynama---"

  
"Calvin, shut your mouth." Krisha snapped at her husband.

  
Now, THAT was something that caught the duo's attention. Crusher had boosters in the past, and his sister had something to do with him getting out of commission? That HAD to be something to tell the police and fully investigate on...

  
"Let's go and see the cake!" AJ called out, phone out and ready to call Officer Anna. "You two can go ahead and try to improve the cake,"

  
"As if we could perfect a cake that is as terrible as the one Crusher will have," Krisha huffed, but she and Calvin drove off anyway.

  
Once they were gone, AJ dialed the number. Blaze looked up at him.

  
"What are we gonna tell Officer Anna?"

  
"To at least make an investigation," AJ replied. "And get some info from Grammy about the case. I have a feeling that she knows something but kept it for Crusher's sake,"

  
"You might be right," Blaze nodded grimly and waited as the phone began to ring.

  
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"La la-di! La di da!" Pickle pranced around in his dressing room as he placed more flowers in the bouquet. "Ta-da!"

  
"Hi, Pickle!" he turned to see Watts, Gabby and Starla entering with smiles.

  
"Heya, guys!" Pickle greeted them with a bigger smile.

  
"Why aren't ya in the dress yet?" Starla asked. "Shouldn't you be getting ready?"

  
"Yeah, the wedding starts in two hours!" Gabby nodded in agreement.

  
"I will... once my sisters come back with some sparkles for the gown!" Pickle motioned to the beautiful white wedding dress hanging on a dress-rack, along with the white transparent veil hanging nearby on the hanger. "It needs a little more green sparkles!"

  
"Well, green sparkles DOES scream you," Watts laughed.

  
"Exactly!" Pickle giggled, turning back to the bouquet to rearrange it. "As soon as they get back, I'll be in the dress and out walking down the aisle with Grandpa!"

  
Gabby smiled, hopping off of Watts. She approached the dress to take a good look at it, her mind trying to think of how to start 'the conversation' that had been nagging at them for a while. Finally, she thought a good ice breaker and turned to the green truck.

  
"Hey, Pickle?"

  
"Hmm?" Pickle turned back to them.

  
"How did you and Crusher meet?"

  
Pickle seemed to think about it for a while as he moved away from the bouquet. "We met years ago. He came from a... wealthier city, far from Axle City. I came from there too, but he's at the highest class since his family is rich while mine is in the middle class. He was already a popular racer as much as his sister Dynama was. I've seen his races and his wins and cheats but was only able to meet him when we were in College. We were partners at a project first then we became friends. In the middle of College, we became best friends then at our graduation, we got together,"

  
"Did his parents know?" Watts asked. "And his sister?"

  
"His sister was home-schooled and prepped for races because she was the 'more successful' one, so no, Dynama didn't know who I was," Pickle shook his head. "His parents sent him to College because they wanted him to get smarter and not focus on racing since they wanted him to inherit their company while Dynama sponsors it with her racing popularity,"

  
"That didn't work out, huh?" Starla guessed.

  
"Nope!" Pickle chuckled. "Racing was something Crusher had loved to do since he was a kid, but his parents never supported him. That's why he's not so athletic. His parents never gave him any training or anything. He trained himself, with Ms. Grammy the only one cheering him on. I also cheered him on when he self-trained himself,"

  
"What made you two leave that city?" Gabby questioned.

  
"After his parents... um, didn't support our relationship either, we moved to Axle City, and he forced himself onto every race he could find, so that he could prove to them that he was a worthy racer... and that he could win through cheating, like Dynama can," Pickle went on. "Grammy stayed but came to visit us from time to time to make sure that we were both alright and to cheer Crusher on,"

  
"So that's why Crusher cheats?" Watts blinked in surprise. "Is their family all cheats?"

  
"Pretty much, but from what Grammy told me, Crusher only started cheating since his boosters broke,"

  
"Crusher had... boosters?" Gabby was surprised. "Like Blaze's blazing speed?"

  
"Oh, NO! It's faster!" Pickle grinned excitedly. "He could zoom off through the race track and be at the finish line in less than 30 minutes! He was so fast at racing when he was younger, along with his former best friend from elementary. They were a real team out in the race track, with their signature move: the PC Dasher! It was either one of them winning the race or both of them!"

  
"Wow," Starla's jaw dropped. "Crusher used to race good? What happened to him?"

  
"His boosters were wrecked," Pickle let out a sigh. "He... He would never tell me how it happened. Says that it was a painful memory, but he did tell me that it was wrecked in a race. Ms. Grammy knows the rest, but she didn't tell me either. All she did was give me... these," He took out two flat circular pads with blue irises in the middle. "They're his boosters. His back was supposed to have two slots where these two are supposed to be attached, but the mechanic said that the damage couldn't be repaired, so he sealed them with a metal piece,"

  
"May I take a look, Pickle?" Gabby asked.

  
"Sure! Go ahead," Pickle handed the pads to the young mechanic.

  
Gabby inspected the pads in her hands closely with a hum. She turned them over to check their condition, weighing them in her hands.

  
"They seem to be in good condition," she reported, eyeing them at the center. "They are actually in great condition. I don't see why Crusher needed to have them removed,"

  
"He didn't have them removed," Pickle told her. "When they said that his boosters broke, they mean that they were already off after that 'bad memory'. He started to cheat after that to regain his reputation, which broke the friendship between him and his best friend,"

  
"But the boosters are okay," Gabby insisted. "Why would that mechanic suggested to let them be removed?"

  
"Maybe it's a rig," Starla suggested. "I mean, his parents are rich, and they seem to hate 'im and love his sister more than him. Maybe they paid the mechanic to say that,"

  
"You think?" Pickle's eyes lit up, intrigued with the idea.

  
"I mean, it would make more sense," Watts nodded. "If the boosters are alright then it must have been a bribe,"

  
"I'll take a better look at this in the garage," Gabby said as she turned to head to Watts's driver's seat. "We'll be back before the wedding starts. Come on, Watts,"

  
"And I'll stay here to make sure everythin's aye-okay!" Starla waved her girlfriend goodbye as she drove out.

  
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"Ah, Blaze!" Clive cheered as the red truck finally entered the kitchen. "AJ! You are here!"

  
"Hey, Clive," Blaze greeted his friend before looking around. "Hey, have you seen two trucks come in here?"

  
"Yeah, one black and one dark indigo?" AJ added. "Each with an accent?"

  
"Yes," Clive sighed and turned to the two trucks restrained by the Baker Bots. "I'm sorry, but they were planning to ruin the wedding cake!"

  
"Preposterous!" Krisha huffed. "This truck is lying! You don't have a lick of proof!"

  
AJ and Blaze exchanged glances before groaning. AJ got off the driver seat and walked towards the trucks, arms crossed.

  
"Actually, it would make much more sense," he admitted. "Ms. Krisha, Mr. Calvin, from everything you've been telling us, it doesn't seem like you even care about Crusher,"

  
"Who can?" Calvin let out a huff. "You two of all people should know how UNBEARABLE he is! We've seen your races. His cheats at every race is so lame and pathetic that he never wins!"

  
"Cheating never works," Blaze pointed out. "We stop his cheats because others might get hurt,"

  
"Small price to pay for winning," Krisha smirked. "And cheats ALWAYS work. Dynama has always cheated, and she has become a champion. Our families has been cheating on the taxes and the liabilities we have in the business. How did you think we manage to stay rich?"

  
Blaze and AJ shook their heads. They had a feeling that changing the minds of Crusher's parents wasn't going to work out well, but they never thought they were going to be THIS difficult.

  
"Well, you will NOT be ruining the cake!" Clive frowned as he drove over to the tall cake of white, blue and green, with two edible statues of Crusher and Pickle on top. "I just finished it! I had to add the statues on top! It would not be a wedding for Crusher and Pickle without them on it!"

  
"WHAT?!" Krisha and Calvin blanched in disgust.

  
"Oh, did we forget to tell you?" AJ grinned. "Crusher is getting married to Pickle,"

  
"But... But that cannot be!" Calvin gagged. "We REFUSE to allow this marriage!"

  
"You don't have a say on it, especially if Pickle's family will be the one accepting Crusher in their family," Blaze told them. "You don't even care about him. Why do you care for whoever he marries?"

  
"Since Dynama is in prison, Crusher will have to inherit the business," Krisha groaned. "And if he is to inherit the business, he would need an heir! From a female!"

  
"Well, then you'd be interested to know that he and Pickle have kids," AJ smiled. "Actual kids, from Pickle himself. Turns out that their families have a blood to make miracles like that,"

  
"Well, Pickle IS a magician," Clive said. "His whole family have a unique skill!"

  
By that time, Krisha and Calvin's expressions went from disgusted to horrified to enraged in an instant. Calvin fought the Baker Bot with persistence now, gritting his teeth.

  
"How UNNATURAL!" he yelled out. "DISGUSTING AND UNNATURAL! THEY DON'T DESERVE TO BE IN THIS FAMILY!"

  
Blaze had just enough of this. He finally released the growl he had been keeping and drove towards them.

  
"YOU BOTH don't deserve to have Crusher as a son!" he yelled out, causing AJ and Clive to jump in shock.

  
Blaze almost NEVER raises his voice at anyone. He had done it to Crusher ONCE, but it didn't really work. This time, however, it seemed higher and more enraged than ever.

  
"Crusher is a cheater, and it's ALL because of you two!" he went on with a sharp tone and a hiss. "You two are TERRIBLE parents! You only loved your daughter, spoiling her even when she burnt down a race track to cheat and win a SIMPLE race! You don't care about anyone but yourselves! IF YOU WERE BETTER PARENTS THEN CRUSHER WOULD BE A BETTER PERSON, AND YOUR DAUGHTER WOULDN'T BE IN PRISON! YOU ARE BOTH SPOILED, EGOTISTIC HOMOPHOBIC CHEATS THAT DOESN'T DESERVE TO BE LOVED OR TAKEN IN BY ANY FAMILY IN ALL THE WORLD!"

  
A tense silence followed after. No one said a word as the two trucks shrunk their spots.

  
AJ had taken out his phone mid-rant and had messaged Officer Anna about what happened. He knew that Blaze had the right to arrest them, he was an officer anyway, but they needed her to witness it for a better explanation on the whole situation.

  
Soon, there was a siren that arrived at the bakery.


	7. Wedding Mission Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next part for the wedding!
> 
> It was SO long that my laptop was lagging! Like, it was so glitchy and EVERYTHING! At least I'll be able to write this much better know :)
> 
> Enjoy!

RING-RING!

"Oh!" Grammy took out her phone to answer. "I've got a call... from Officer Anna!"

"O-Officer Anna?" Crusher's eyes widened as he cradled the twins to sleep. "Do you think...?"

Grammy got in her grandson's train of thought and paled. She answered the phone immediately.

"Hello? Yes, this is his grandmother, Calvin's mother. How may I help you?"

Grammy listened to her for a moment before nodding. She then handed the phone to Crusher, who gulped and set the twins down on their stroller then he shakily took the phone in his tires, almost dropping it out of nervousness but managed to grab it in a good grip.

"H-Hello?"

["Crusher, this is Officer Anna,"] the police spoke through the phone. ["Happy Wedding Day, but I was wondering if you're willing to answer some questions. It's regarding your parents,"]

Crusher swallowed but shook his head. "I can, but not now. How about... after the wedding? Like, maybe, tomorrow?"

["That's understandable,"] she answered. ["For the moment, we'll keep your parents under custody, and we'll look into the history of your family. Good day,"]

With that, she hung up. Crusher sighed and handed the phone back.

"They have Mother and Father," he told his grandmother. "I don't know whether to be happy that Mother and Father won't wreck my wedding day or scared of what the police might find out about them,"

"Calvin has taken things too far again..." Grammy shook her head. "I don't know what went wrong with him. I never raised him like that,"

"Probably Grandfather's fault," Crusher muttered. "He's the one who took things as far as Father does. Mother's family did too,"

"Perhaps," Grammy sighed and patted him on the back. "We will never know,"

"There is ONE thing I know." Crusher hissed. "I'll never forgive them for what they did to my boosters."

"An absolute sabotage, I know, my Crushy," Grammy squeezed her grandson into a hug. "but are you sure you don't want to admit the truth to the others? Especially to Pickle?"

"If they found out that I was a coward to not fight my parents when they traumatized me and forcibly removed my boosters after Dynama burnt the race track to kill me, they're gonna hate me more than they do already!" Crusher whimpered. "And Pickle's gonna leave me!"

"Oh, Crushy..." Grammy frowned. "Pickle would never leave you for that, and your friends don't hate you,"

"They do, and they're going to hate me MORE!" Crusher cried out.

"How about we tell them after the wedding?" Grammy suggested. "After our visit to the police tomorrow?"

"I... okay," Crusher nodded with a sigh. "I guess,"

"That's my grandson," Grammy smiled and patted his head. "Now, come on, let's get ready for the wedding. Have you chosen your best men yet?"

Crusher thought for a while before nodding with a smile. "Yes, I have,"

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"Heya, guys!"

"BLAZE! AJ!" the friends cheered as the red truck zipped into the wedding venue.

"Hey, everyone," AJ greeted, jumping off the driver seat with a wave.

"Blaze! AJ!" Crusher ran out of his dressing room, eyes beaming uncharacteristically. "You're back!"

"Hey, Crusher!" Blaze waved a tire at the dark blue truck. "We've got everything! The suit, the bow tie..."

"...and the cake too!" AJ unhooked the wagon and opened the box to reveal the beautiful wedding cake.

"WOW!" Darington screamed. "THAT CAKE IS SO AWESOME!"

"And HUGE!" Zeg cried out. "Tall, TALL cake!"

"And it looks SO YUMMY!" Stripes licked his lips.

"Clive sure did a good job!" Starla grinned.

"He sure did," Blaze nodded in agreement then he turned to the dark blue truck. "Hey, Crusher, I'm sorry with what happened to your parents,"

"Well, it was to be expected," Crusher sighed. "I told you that they could be unbearable,"

"I'm surprised that we lasted that long," AJ groaned. "I was ready to scream! How did you bear them for so long?"

"They ignored me, and in turn, I did too," Crusher shrugged. "Are you sure Officer Anna can hold them for so long? They can be pretty... you know,"

"I'm sure Officer Anna can handle them for a night," Gabby assured him. "At least they were arrested. I can't imagine letting trucks like them roaming around,"

"Officer Anna's also going to look up at their history, especially about Dynama's case," AJ told them. "Hopefully, they can get to the bottom of the family business and finally get them sued for all the times that they had cheated on their taxes and everything,"

"Thanks..." Crusher offered them a small smile. "You guys didn't have to do that,"

"We had to. They're business is illegal," Blaze pointed out. "They were doing something with illegal fireworks and whatnot,"

"Oh, that's for Dynama's sponsored races," Crusher cleared out. "They were planning to let out the fireworks for celebration purposes and the other things for bribary,"

"That sounds like them, alright," Watts shook her head.

"How long can Officer Anna hold them, Blaze?" Darington asked.

"A month, at the longest," Blaze told them. "Then she's gonna send them back to the city, so the police there can deal with their business and their arrest,"

"Good enough," Grammy spoke as she came forward. "Now, let's forget about the problems and focus on the big day!"

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Pickle was squealing internally as he stood at the end of the hall, in front of the doors. His dress was flowing, and it suited his small figure as he held the bouquet of flowers in his front tires.

"Are you ready, Pickle?" Grandpa Pickle asked his grandson, holding a tire out.

"Nervous and excited but ready as I'll ever be!" Pickle grinned as he took his grandfather's tire in his.

"Your parents would be proud to see you like this,"

"I... I know," Pickle tearfully smiled. "I'm sure they're watching the wedding from above. Front and center!"

"They sure are," Grandpa Pickle chuckled.

With that, they walked down the aisle.

Every truck that they all had befriended in Axle City were there. Those whom Blaze had helped and befriended mostly, but they were all friendly and supportive enough to come. Those who cheered the races from the crowd also came, especially the ones who had already theorized Crusher and Pickle being together for a long time (which was plenty, which left Crusher embarrassed for weeks since he was trying SO HARD to keep it a secret when he wasn't good at keeping it in the first place).

Pickle's sisters and cousins all lined up the first rows of seating, along with Grammy caring for the twins. Zeg and Stripes were there too, watching Grandpa Pickle led Pickle to the altar, handing his tire to Crusher (who admittingly looked gorgeous in his suit and tie). Starla, Watts and Gabby stood by one side of the altar as the bridesmaids while, to Pickle's surprise, Blaze, Darington, and AJ were the ones standing on the other side as the best men.

"They were good choices to me," Crusher whispered to answer the unspoken question.

"I think that they're GREAT choices," Pickle giggled as they made their way closer to the altar.

"And YOU are my best choice,"

Pickle blushed deeply before smiling, his eyes meeting the others. "And you were mine,"

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"So... little brother is getting married, huh?"

A similar scratchy voice growled as she watched the screen. She had installed spy cameras to watch her so-called brother's every move, every failed race and cheats. It was her entertainment, the only thing keeping her from going more insane than she was already.

But this was no entertainment, oh no. THIS was a complete DISGRACE to the show she usually watches.

"I swore to our ancestors that this... this kid brother of mine will not receive happiness from anything and anyone, especially after falling for a guy like that idiot." she snarled, a light in her body glowing neon purple swirl until a machine appeared behind her trunk, with a sledgehammer and a huge saw.

The whole prison began to shake as she broke through the wall and leapt out into the road. Her machine disappeared and reconstructed into a jetpack just as the police came out to chase after her. The jetpack activated, and she flew, up, up and away, into the clouds, out of sight from the police or from anyone who might catch her as she headed straight to Axle City.

"I will make sure Crusher remains miserable." she cackled. "or my name isn't Dynama, the Devil Racer!"

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The reception was lit up and full of life.

Everyone was dancing, having fun. The cake had been cut, with Pickle sending their piece to Crusher's face. Crusher usually would rant at a mess, but the mood he had that day was too cheerful and happy to be ruined that he made his own comeback and grabbed a frosting to throw towards his new husband's nose. It made the other laugh, but luckily they stopped before a food fight could ensue.

They were both still left with cake on their faces more than their mouths, though, but Crusher didn't mind at all.

Pickle and him got the first dance. The green truck was a good dancer, and everyone seemed surprised that he was too.

Crusher just shrugged off the gasps. He was trained for these things, not racing, really. His parents practically forced him into this kind of training, to dance properly, to eat properly, and etc. At least he could use the dancing part to good use.

Soon, Pickle was dancing with his grandfather. His sisters and cousins were all letting loose and having fun too. His Grammy was playing Terra and Aquario for the last time since she had to leave the next day after talking to the police. Blaze and Darington were at the dancefloor, as were Starla and Watts and AJ and Gabby. Stripes was the conductor for the animal choir for the music while Zeg was putting on a show with some dinosaurs for those who didn't want to dance.

Crusher was at the table, watching everything unfold happily. He took a break from dancing and was resting, munching on some cake, which was HEAVENLY from the frosting to the flavors.

Everything was perfect to him. Everything was great. A new husband, amazing kids, an amazing new family.

He was so focused on the crowd that he failed to notice a shadow creeping up from behind him. His focus finally shifted, however, when he heard the sound of jetpack behind him. His whole body glowed with his inventing pouch out of instinct as he felt someone arrive.

"Hello, little brother."

There was a sudden swinging of a hammer, but his inventing pouch made a shield as he turned to see a familiar magenta truck with a neon purple swirl of light, along with a similar inventing pouch, but it was smaller and had a skull design painted on it.

"Dynama." he growled, glaring at the other with gritted his teeth as he kept pushing on the shield, so it could still block the hammer. "What are YOU doing here?! You should be in prison!"

"Do you REALLY think I'd let you be happiness when YOU ruined MY happiness?!" Dynama snarled, swinging her hammer harder this time. "YOU RUINED MY RACING CAREER!"

"YOU DID THAT TO YOURSELF!" Crusher shot back. "YOU were the one who's SO focus on killing me that you burnt the race track and ruined your own career!"

"YOU SON OF A---!" Dynama's swirl glowed once more, and her hammer enlarged into a sledgehammer... with spikes!

Crusher gasped as his shield broke at the impact of the weapon, sending him back towards the dancefloor. The music came to a halt as everyone turned to see him and his psycho big sister.

"CRUSHER!" Blaze and Pickle ran to him immediately, followed by the rest of their friends.

"Ha! You're SO weak and SO disgusting!" Dynama mocked with a laugh. "I mean, marrying and having kids with a GUY?! And I thought you needing friends was bad enough!"

"Watch who you callin' weak, scumbug!" Starla hissed, releasing her lasso as Watts charged up her tires beside her.

"Yeah!" Stripes roared out, claws appearing from his tires as Zeg swung his tail around threateningly while Darington came forward with a growl.

"Pathetic." Dynama rolled her eyes, but just as she did, her eyes caught her grandmother with her 'niece and nephew', causing her to smirk as an idea formed in her head. "Well, if I can't kill you, little brother, then I'll just have to take away something else you love!"

With that, she dashed towards Grammy, who gasped as she was pushed back. Crusher's eyes widened in horror as he was helped up.

"GRAMMY!"

Dynama snickered and grabbed the two crying baby trucks before driving off, through the crowd and out of the venue. Crusher drove over to help his grandmother up.

"You okay, Grammy?"

"Y-Yes," Grammy nodded shakily. "BUT DYNAMA TOOK THE TWINS!"

"WHAT?!" Everyone gasped, with Crusher's and Pickle's being screeches of fear.

"Don't worry, everyone," Blaze assured them. "AJ and I'll get them back!"

"Yeah!" AJ nodded and hopped onto his best friend's driver seat then he stepped on the gas, causing the red truck to suddenly zoom off after the magenta truck.

Crusher watched as the they left. The twins... HIS twins... HIS kids... his OWN sister kidnapped them and were planning to KILL them! Blaze and AJ were there to catch her, but they didn't know her tricks. They didn't know how dirty she could play. How DARK she could play when it comes to chases, especially when she has an AWFUL idea in her head.

They didn't know her. HE did. He knew every trick she had, every deadly scheme she played on him to kill him while they were growing up. She was HIS sister, after all. And those were HIS kids.

He had to stop her. He had to save them. They were all HIS responsibility, after all.

"Blaze's gonna need help!" Pickle cried out.

"But how?" Darington asked.

"Yeah! No one can go as fast as Blaze," Stripes agreed.

It was true. Well, Crusher could, but not when the red truck used blazing speed. The only way he could catch up if he---

"Here, Crusher!"

"Huh?" Crusher turned to see Gabby handing out two familiar pads. "Wait, OH, no, no, no---!"

"It's okay, Crusher," Gabby smiled. "It wasn't banged up that badly, and I fixed some of the dents up just in case,"

"B-But... I..."

"Yippee!" Pickle cheered. "You can use your boosters and catch up with Blaze to stope Dynama and get the twins!"

"P-Pickle, I..."

"That mechanic was a liar," Gabby told him. "It was an easy fix, and once we removed that piece of metal on your back, you can easily---!"

"I CAN'T!" Crusher yelled out, silencing everyone in an instant.

"You... what do you mean?" Starla was confused. "It's YOUR boosters,"

"Yes... but I... I can't wear them," Crusher shook his head and placed his tires in front of his face. "I... I can't wear them... Not anymore..."

"Crusher..." Pickle looked surprised as he reached out at his new husband. "what do you mean?"

"Yeah, what's wrong?" Stripes tilted his head.

"What he means is... he can't mentally use them anymore," Grammy told them, driving to her grandson's side to comfort him. "Crushy, I think you need to explain the rest to them,"

"I... okay," Crusher sighed and pulled his tires away from his face. "You guys know about the fire that Dynama did to the race track to cheat? Well, that isn't true. Well, not entirely the whole story. Only me, Grammy and Pry, the name I gave my former best friend, knew the truth. The fire at the race track wasn't there, so Dynama could cheat and win. It was... It was to kill me... and it wasn't meant to spread,"

Everyone gasped. Crusher gulped but went on.

"There's... There's more. The fire... it wasn't supposed to spread. She placed oil on the track, yes, to cheat, but also to catch me alone, so she could kill me without anyone noticing. She was about to burn me with a flamethrower she invented when I... I used my boosters to get away. It worked, yes, but the fire she shot out flew into the sky and went towards the oil, sending the whole track on fire. Pry and I barely escaped,"

Everyone was silent as they listened to the tale. By the end, Gabby took a glance at the pads in her hands before smiling. She still went forward and handed them to him.

"You can't possibly think that we blame you for what happened,"

"Yeah," Watts nodded in agreement. "It was an accident,"

"You were only trying to defend yourself from that psycho," Stripes agreed. "If I had a whackjob chasing me like that, I'd do the same without a doubt,"

"Friends no blame Crusher for what happened," Zeg gave a nod.

"I don't blame you either," Pickle smiled and hugged his husband. "You were just trying to get away,"

"But because of my cowardness, I got SO many hurt and killed," Crusher whimpered. "That's why my boosters were removed. My parents pinned the blame on me, but Grammy was in my defense after catching everything on camera. Dynama was imprisoned, and my parents were enraged. They tried to burn me in my sleep, and they didn't rest when it came to reminding me that I got my very own sister imprisoned. They then threatened to leave me and burn the house, so I... we compromised, and I gave up my boosters,"

"That's harsh," Darington frowned. "What kind of parents do you have? Devils?"

"I know it was hard, but, Crusher, Blaze and AJ NEED your help," Gabby insisted. "The twins NEED your help. You're the only one who know how to use these boosters and the only who CAN use them. You need to prove to your parents and to Dynama that despite what they did to you, you won't back down. You won't be a coward, and you won't let them step over you. You'll prove to them that whatever they do to bring you down and whatever they do to threaten you won't hurt you and won't affect you whatsoever,"

Crusher took in everything she said. For years, he had been taking in everything his parents and his sister had been doing to him. 'ABUSE', as Pry had laid out to him on their last argument. He didn't listen, shrugging it off and stating that it was natural. It ruined their 10-year friendship, and Pry left the city the next day to head back to his family in the jungle.

But when he left, he seemed to consider the idea. Each abuse from them had left him numb, left him hard, left him cold enough to care for no one else's emotions... even his own. Only his grandmother had helped him to release his own emotions, spoiling him, so that he could be confident enough to talk for himself no matter what anyone else said.

But talking back to his parents and sisters face-front was difficult. With his sister, it was easier now, but with his parents? Never. It was only a miracle that they're imprisoned now.

But could he really battle his sister now? The sister who would not hesitate to kill him in one go? It was a suicide mission.

Crusher took one look at his boosters, his mind conflicted before turning to look at everyone else. Grammy's was a soft expression while the others looked hopeful and desperate. Pickle's looked about the same as the rest, but his was also different, in a sense that it was clearly stating that if he had to, he would zoom off and help Blaze and AJ to rescue the twins himself.

Crusher couldn't risk it, he knew he couldn't. He just got a family now, a better family than where he came from. He's got new friends, friends that he swore he'll never lose again. He wasn't going to lose any of it. Not now, not ever.

"Alright," he nodded and turned around, so Gabby could remove the metal from his back.

He wasn't whole-heartedly ready for this, to get back his boosters, to stop his sister, but he knew that in his heart that his twins, his KIDS, needed him more now than they had ever needed him. He knew they probably won't remember this, they were only a few months old, after all, but he didn't care if they remembered. All he cared about is that he could hold them in his tires again and embrace them again.

He soon felt the two heavy pads on their slots, followed by a familiar sound of thrust from the boosters. He felt the metal spread out into fiery blue fire as an unfamiliar feeling of quickness filled his whole body, causing his body to glow in the same light as when he invents. Gasps were heard from behind, but he ignored them as he revved his engine.

'I'll make sure that Dynama regrets breaking out of prison.'

With that, he zoomed off, out of the venue and into the night sky.

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"Argh! Stop crying!" Dynama yelled as she held the sobbing baby trucks in both tires. "You two are lucky that I've got a better plan with what to do with you, or I'd be dropping you both here with no hesitation!"

"DYNAMA!" she turned to see Blaze and AJ just below here, with the red truck transformed as a tow truck to prepare to bring her down. "Give back the twins!"

"Ha! You can't stop me, Blaze!" Dynama cackled before flying up into the clouds.

Blaze hissed as he came into a stop. "Gaskets! She got away!"

"I know! Let's transform into a jet with bright lights to see through the clouds," AJ suggested.

"Let's do it!" Blaze agreed, but before he could say anything, the sound of someone speeding towards them. "Wait, listen. Do you hear that?"

"Yeah," AJ nodded slowly. "It sounds like---"

Suddenly, there was a dash of blue, and the two turned to see a familar dark blue truck standing beside them.

"CRUSHER?!"

"What? Couldn't let you do the rescue alone?" Crusher chuckled. "Now, where's Dynama?"

"She flew up into the clouds," AJ pointed up. "We were just gonna transform to catch up with her,"

"No, she'll knock you off the sky," Crusher shook his head. "I'll go up, and you stay here. I'll give you twins then I'll get her,"

"How?" Blaze asked.

Crusher didn't reply. He didn't really need to. His whole body glowed blue as his inventing pouch opened up and threw metal scraps towards his boosters, fusing them together until it formed a jetpack. He was soon into the sky and soaring up into the clouds at top speed.

Meanwhile, Dynama was flying over, twins in tires when she heard a familiar zoom from below her. She came to a stop for a moment as she tried to remind herself where she had heard that sound.

"Wait... isn't that---"

ZOOM!

"GAH!" Dynama screamed as a flash of blue zoomed towards her, ripping one of the engines of her jetpack.

Her grip on the baby trucks loosened, and Terra and Aquario were crying as they fell. There was another a zip and zoom, swiftly catching the baby trucks before they could hit the trees. They stopped crying, and they looked up to see their father staring down at them with a smile. They cheered and squealed at the sight of him.

"Aww, I missed you guys too," Crusher giggled, kissing each of their foreheads as he turned to fly the other way. "For now, I want you to go with Uncle Blaze and AJ while daddy catches your mean Auntie, okay?"

The baby trucks nodded absentmindedly, not really understanding what their father was telling them, but Crusher took it as a confirmation as he zoomed down to where Blaze and AJ were waiting for him. They waved over to call his attention as he landed in front of them.

"Here," he gave the twins to them then turned. "Now I have a sister to stop,"

"Good luck!" Blaze told him. "And be careful,"

"Knowing her tricks, I'm gonna need luck," Crusher let out a shaky breath before activating his jetpack and soaring back up.

If there was a right time to stop his sister, it was DEFINITELY now.

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"Drat! Where did he go?!" Dymana cursed as she looked around the sky. "I SWEAR if he has what I think he has, then I swear to our ancestors---"

"Swear to them what?"

She froze before turning around to see Crusher hovering behind her, towering over as he glared down at her. She returned the glare.

"So you DID get your boosters back." she hissed. "The same boosters that could've killed off Prider and the rest of your so-called friends,"

"YOU wanted to kill me. I acted out of self-defense," Crusher huffed. "Nothing that you tell me will bring me down. Not this time. I have friends again, I have a husband, I have kids, I have an actual family! Better than you or our parents or any of our relatives!"

"A family? Pah-lease!" Dynama rolled her eyes. "You're not good enough for ANY family,"

"I'm never good enough, I know that. You and everyone else had never gotten tired of reminding me everyday, every second of my life, but Pickle and his family accept me anyway," Crusher countered back. "Grammy accepted me. Despite my cheats, Blaze and the other racers accepted me. I don't care if I'm not good enough for your family anymore. As long as MY family think that what I am is enough then I know that I AM enough. Your opinion doesn't matter to me, not anymore."

Dynama growled. This was one thing that she had been trying to avoid. Crusher knew it well. She and the rest of their family had been making him look bad, so that no one would love him. No one would accept him.

But their efforts were in vain. At the end of the day, Grammy had stayed by his side no matter what, and Crusher had found a new, better family to accept who he was and to help him through his troubles. A family that could change and undo everything that his former family had done to him.

"YOU DON'T DESERVE THEM!" Dynama roared out, her whole body glowing as her own inventing pouch released scraps to make a huge sword. "AND I WILL MAKE SURE YOU WILL NEVER GET NEAR THEM!"

Crusher sighed, his own body glowing to take out his own sword. He wanted to stop his sister, but he didn't want to hurt her. He hated being soft when it comes to family, but despite the many times that she had tried to kill him, SHE was still HIS sister. She was still family, no matter what.

But if it meant protecting the family that accepted him then so be it.

Dynama attacked first, releasing her battle cry as her eyes screamed rage and craziness. Crusher hissed as he pushed forward, swinging his sword to clash with hers. Both metal let out a loud CLANG! as they met, the force of the weapons sending them back. Their jetpacks managed to keep them from falling from the sky, and they were soon hovering apart, just near the trees.

"Argh!" Dynama flew forward to attack again, but Crusher was quick, and he swung to defend once more before turning to slash one of her jetpack engines again. "YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT, YOU LITTLE---!"

Her actions spoke before her words as she suddenly raised her sword and brought it down faster than Crusher could act. She slashed his jetback straight in the middle then slashed it in half. Crusher gasped, eyes widening in horror as he began to fall.

Thankfully, he and Dynama weren't far from the ground, and he fell into the nearby bush with a yelp.

"Crusher!" Dazily, said dark blue truck looked up to find Blaze and AJ driving towards him, the twins asleep and strapped safely on the seat beside the boy. "Are you okay?"

"M'fine..." Crusher hissed, struggling to pull himself back on his tires. "You should all get out of here. Dynama's still up there and---"

"MWUHAHAHAHAHA!" the group looked up to see Dynama smirking as she took out a flamethrower. "Guess it's time to HEAT THINGS UP AROUND HERE! MWUHAHAHAHAHA!"

Crusher's eyes were wide as a cliff as his sister proceeded to burn the whole forest. HIs inventing pouch glowed up once more, and a bouncing bubble came up, clasping Blaze, AJ, Terra, and Aquario inside and bouncing them out. They bounced off just in time as the flames occupied the trees and bushes at Crusher's side, causing the dark blue truck to jump back and fall onto the ground.

"Oh shoot---!" he hissed and covered his face with his tires to not take in any smoke.

Luck didn't seem to be on his side, and in a few minutes, he was coughing and wheezing for air like crazy. The smoke from the flames soon filled the air, matching the wicked laughter that echoed through the air above the smoke. It drowned him in smoke and flames, and he felt himself starting to lose conscious as he backed up into a tree, his eyes dazed and weak from lack of oxygen.

The last thing he heard and saw before blacking out was the sound of a familiar engine zooming towards him and a shadow approaching him...

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"Where are they?" Darington let out a hiss as he, Starla, Stripes, Watts, Gabby, Zeg, Pickle, and Grammy searched the outer part of the forest for the others. "Crusher's booster tracks stop right here, but where could they have gone?"

"Don't know," Starla shook her head with a sigh.

"I just hope that they're all alright," Watts sighed. "They've been gone for a while,"

"Wait, guys," Stripes's ear shot up, picking up a noise from afar. "Do you guys hear that? Sounds like... a bouncing ball... and Blaze!"

Sure enough, a huge transparent bubble bounced towards them, breaking apart as it reached the ground. Blaze and AJ were dazed as they fell onto the floor while Terra and Aquario giggled, clapping their tires at the 'ride'. Pickle gasped.

"TERRA! AQUARIO!" he took his kids into his own tires, drowning the two baby trucks in kisses. "Thank goodness you two are safe!"

"Are you two okay?" Gabby asked as she helped AJ onto the ground as Darington immediately snatched his boyfriend into a worrying hug.

"We're fine," AJ nodded. "A little dizzy, but fine enough,"

"FINE?! You were up against a complete PSYCHOPATH!" Darington growled, glaring up at the red truck. "I know you two want to stop her, but THAT WAS RECKLESS! And I LOVE being reckless!"

"Yeah, yeah, sorry for worrying you," Blaze offered his lover a smile and a small kiss then he turned to everyone else. "but Crusher's still in the forest, and Dynama's setting the WHOLE PLACE ON FIRE!"

"WHAT?!" Everyone gasped.

As if on cue, the trees and bushes erupted into flames. The group all yelped and drove off to avoid being burned.

"CRUSHER!" Pickle handed the twins to Grammy and planned to dive into the fire when Blaze stopped him.

"Pickle, NO! It's too risky!" he told him.

"Yeah, Blaze and I'll do it," AJ offered.

"You two are INSANE! NO!" Darington shook his head.

"Fire too big for Blaze and AJ!" Zeg cried out.

"But if we won't do it then who's gonna save Crusher?!" Blaze questioned. "The rest of the firefighters aren't going to get here on time, and---"

Suddenly, interrupting the red truck. There was a whirl of a jetpack, and everyone looked up to see Dynama cackling as she aimed to attack them with her huge sword.

"Oh NO you don't!" Starla twirled her lasso and threw it, taking one of the thrusters in her hoop before pulling on it.

"ACK!" Dynama yelped, dropping her sword in shock. "DAMMIT!"

Blaze followed in pursuit, aiming at the other thruster to help the cowgirl truck with his own lasso then Stripes jumped up, claws out to slash the jetpack into half. He landed on the ground and drove towards his friends just in time for the psycho truck to fall.

"Ow~" Dynama was dazy as she forced herself up and tried to get away.

"Not on our watch!" Watts hissed, her electric wheels lighting up. "Electric CHARGE!"

She blasted the magenta truck, knocking her out in an instant. Gabby gave Officer Anna a quick message just as Dynama fell back unconscious while Starla wrapped her up to make sure she didn't get away.

"That's one problem taken care of," Darington sighed in relief.

"But... But what about Crusher?!" Pickle cried out. "He's still out there!"

The friends all exchanged glances. They honestly don't know what to do. The forest fire was too much, too risky for any of them to enter, or at least put out.

What could they do?

Before any of them could offer a reply, however, there was a rumble of an engine coming from the flames. They all turned to find someone driving towards them, a fireproof shield around them as they came out from the fire, something, or someone, out with his line and hook. The shield hid his identity, but as soon as they, and whatever else they were dragging, were out of danger, the shield lowered. Stripes gasped.

"PRIDER?!"

"Hey, cousin," the white tiger truck spoke in a cool, deep voice as he grinned, purple eyes shimmering under the light of the moon.

"Oh my god, what are you doing here?!" Stripes drove up to the other. "You never said that you were coming to Axle City!"

"I wasn't planning to," Prider confessed. "but then I heard that my former best friend was getting married from Ms. Grammy, so I wanted to head over to surprise him," He then turned to the truck he had been dragging. "Thank goodness I did,"

"CRUSHER!" Pickle ran over to his unconscious husband, wrapping him in his tires as soon as he could. "OH, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!"

"It's no trouble at all," Prider smiled. "You're... Pickle, right?"

"Yes, he is," Grammy nodded as she drove forward with the baby trucks in her tires. "And these are their twins; Terra and Aquario,"

"Well, hello, you little cuties," Prider cooed at the sight of the twins. "You two look just like your parents, but I have feeling that you're going to be a little more troublesome, just like your father,"

"So YOU'RE Crusher's former best friend," AJ concluded.

"Yeah, I am," Prider nodded. "I haven't seen him in a long while since I came to Axle City to join Stripes. I had to clear my head since Crush had his issues, I knew I couldn't change his mind that easily, so I had to leave. When my head was finally clear, I went back to the other city to see him, but when I got there, Grammy told me that he left for Axle City to get away from his parents and his old life, and I was already too late,"

"Yeesh, talk about crazy luck," Darington commented.

"Yeah," Prider sighed. "I wanted to head back to talk to him, but seeing his attitude during races made me realize that he was still sorting things out, so I left him be and stayed at the city to keep an eye on Krisha and Calvin,"

"At least you came to his wedding," Watts said.

"Even if it IS late," Stripes held back a snicker. "but we're glad you came anyway,"

"I knew that I was gonna be late," Prider shrugged. "I was conflicting with myself whether I should go or not. I knew that I wanted to see Crush and see how he's doing, but I didn't know if he was ready to see me, especially after everything we've been through,"

"I think he would've been thrilled to see you," Blaze offered him a smile. "He wouldn't remember you if he didn't miss you,"

"Nor would he still call you 'Pry' if he didn't want to remember you," AJ added with a nod.

"He... He still calls me 'Pry'?" Prider looked touched. "Really?"

"As much as I would LOVE to continue this reunion, I think we need to take Crusher to the garage, in case of any burns or other damages," Gabby told them.

"What about Dynama?" Zeg asked, pointing to the magenta truck, who was still unconscious. "Dynama might escape,"

"Don't worry," Blaze said. "AJ and I will watch over her before the rest of the police get here,"

"Alright, Blaze," Gabby nodded then she turned to the white tiger truck again. "Prider, can you carry Crusher to my garage?"

"Of course," Prider gave a nod and a smile.


	8. Epilogue

Crusher groaned as he felt the feeling of numbness all over his body while he floated in absolute darkness.

He felt weak, cramped, while his mind was blurry and in pain. He could barely remember much that had happened before he lost it. He still remembered... the flames. The flames... The same flames that nearly killed him and Prider years ago... from the same psychopathic truck that he used to call his sister. The one whom he used to idolize.

Why had he been so deperate to have her love him as a sibling should? He should have seen the signs.

No, he SAW the signs. They weren't subtle. It was perfectly clear, clear as crystal, that she downright hated him and wanted to get rid of him.

So why didn't he pay attention?

He didn't want to. He hoped, stupid, STUPID childish hope, that his sister would warm up him. That she would love him in return. That she would care for him like he had once cared for her.

It was foolish, it was stupid, but he was desperate.

No one truly wanted him. His parents saw him as a second option, as the heir image of their company, the 'perfect' son to represent the money of their company. Lifeless, numb, emotionless, stiff, cold...

Only his grandmother, oh bless her soul, has ever loved him any family would love him. She released his feelings into the world, held him at his toughest moments and spoiled him in things that his parents never did.

Prider loved him like a brother, always there for him when he needed him. They had been old childhood friends. They raced together, the ultimate racing team, the creater of the PC Dasher! One argument, however, had driven them apart.

He turned cold, numb, careless of his own emotions. His Grammy tried to help him, but he drowned himself in his own rage, his own coldness, his own selfishness.

And by some miracle, Pickle had shown up in his life. He was the one to put up with him, even at his most unbearableness. He doesn't know why the green truck was able to bear it. He remembered being so confused as the other stayed by his side, no matter what trouble got himself into, he would always greet him after as if nothing happened.

Luck and realization fell upon him at their first kiss, that first kiss that led to unblossoming and confused feelings in himself. The feelings that filled with so much happiness that he could barely explain it. He and Pickle were deep in love, he knew they were. They both beared each other, beared the best and the worse of one another.

No one but his Grammy had beared him for that long. It was surprising, but he was too happy to question it.

Their love grew, even after the shame that his parents brought them. Their love stregthen even as they moved to Axle City, acting as only best friends to hide out. Their love stayed true, with spending every night cuddling, snuggling and giving each other all of the affection that they could never show or reveal out in the public because of fear.

He had left the past behind, yet they seemed to come back, no matter how eager he was to get rid of them. He hid from his parents, tried his hardest to forget his psycho sister, but they came back anyway. They came back to haunt him, to KILL him, to hurt him and all that he loves.

And he paid the price.

Death, in his opinion, was a way to be released from the pain the world was forcing you to take, yet he never wanted to die. Even with all the pain and failure the world had given him, the thought of death scared him. Every cheat he did, every bad decision he made, the thought of death, on himself and anyone else, made his stomach drop and churn all over.

Yet here he was, dying in the depths of darkness. He was still in pain, weak from all the smoke he had taken in his lungs, but it wasn't as strong as it had been before he collapsed in the middle of the flames.

It was a strange irony that he would be laughing at if it wasn't for the fact that he was losing his life with every second.

Suddenly, the pain doubled, and he found himself hissing as he felt his whole body tremble. He wanted to let out a scream, but his voice seemed to have flown away. His screams were silent as he felt himself being lifted into the air, little by little, into the light...

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"He'll be up in a while," the doctor spoke with a smile. "It's good that you brought him here after fixing him up, or he would never have made it,"

"Thank you, doctor," Grammy nodded.

"How long will he need to recover?" Pickle asked worriedly.

"If he wakes today then he may recover in a few weeks," the doctor replied, glancing over at her clipboard before driving out. "I must be off. I'll be back to check on him later. Call me if he wakes up,"

Everyone watched as she left. Once the door shut, they turned back to Crusher, who was laying on the hospital bed, pale and almost still. He was breathing, but it was shallow, and his eyes were closed, not even flickering to signify that he wasn't waking up anytime sooner.

Pickle was taking his condition at the worst. He had been crying for hours, all the way to the ride to the hospital. At the garage, Gabby had hooked up something to check Crusher's heartbeat and pulse to make sure he was still living. By the end of the repairs, the dark blue truck's pulse slowed and his heartbeat almost stopped.

This made everyone panic, especially Pickle, who couldn't stop screaming and driving around in tears. Blaze, who came with AJ a few minutes after Officer Anna took Dynama back to prison, immediately turned into a huge truck carrier and set Crusher onto his carrier before using his blazing speed to speed all the way to the hospital.

They brought him in time, and his pulse sped up, even if it was only a bit.

"Don't worry, Pickle," Prider was the first to speak up, after a long, moment of tense silence as he patted a tire on the green truck. "Crush is strong, even when he doesn't act like it. He'll pull through,"

"That fire was intense," Stripes shuddered. "How do you know that he'll make it, cuz?"

Prider took in the question for a moment before sighing. "The fire from the race had been intense too. Crush and I were both trapped in a ring of flames since Dynama spread the oil. We had to do the PC Dasher, but the fire had gotten closer to me than him, so he was the one that flung me off the race track to save me. I couldn't leave him, even when the fire got stronger. He tried to build an extinguisher, big enough to put out all the fire in the race track, but he fainted in the middle of the inventing, and the metal scraps scattered. He nearly burned,"

"You never told me that..." Grammy frowned. "Neither of you did,"

"We didn't want to worry you," Prider told her. "And we didn't want Calvin and Krisha to think that they almost succeeded,"

"What happened?" Darington asked. "How did you get him out,"

"I managed to grab him out with my own grappling hook," Prider replied. "When I did, he landed towards the water. It woke him up instantly, and the parts of him that got were caught on fire were put out. He was still weak, though, so I had to help him to drive towards safety,"

"It's like what happened tonight!" Starla cried out.

"Yes, but there was no water to wake him up before his condition got worse," Pride let out a shaky breath. "Grammy and I managed to get him some help before he fainted for the second time, and he was in a worse condition now because he was hit by Dynama and had crashed before getting engulfed into the fire,"

"But he'll make it," Blaze assured everyone. "Crusher's gone through so much. I'm sure that he'll fight. Fight for his life,"

"Yeah," AJ agreed with a nod. "He'll be alright. He'll be up and moving before we know it,"

The others didn't look so convinced but managed to murmur an 'okay' or an 'alright' before driving out to get some air. Blaze and AJ exchanged a sigh then they drove out to join the others. Prider, Pickle, and Grammy were the only ones to stay in the room, with the elder truck holding the sleeping twins in her tires while the white tiger truck and the green truck stared down at the dark blue truck a little longer.

Pickle was crying, even when he tried to ignore the tears. His front tires were on the bed, with his face slumped up against them to stare over at his husband, internally pleading that the other would wake up.

Prider turned to the other but turned away immediately. He really wanted to comfort him again, but he knew that he couldn't say what Pickle needed to hear. He wasn't sure that he would believe his own words, anyway. Crusher... the truck that he had considered his best friends even after their argument... was fighting for his life here. He wished that there was more he could do to help him, but he knew he couldn't do anything but wait.

Wait and hope that Crusher was actually coming back.

A comfortable yet tense silence came between them. Neither of them knew what to say, or even if they should say anything. They barely knew each other, yet here they were, in front of the one they cared about, who was DYING.

Pickle, however, knew Prider more than the white tiger gave him credit for. There wasn't another day where Crusher wouldn't talk about him, his former best friend, and how he wished he could seal back the friendship that they lost. Pickle was never jealous of it. He was always feeling sympathetic for his lover, knowing that the dark blue truck was hurting but barely showing his real thoughts and emotions, always hiding for the sake of his own pride, the pride that he had forced himself to make to forget the pride he had earned and lost years ago.

After a while, the green truck decided to speak up.

"He never forgot you, you know?"

Prider was caught off-guard, blinking as he turned back to the other. "W-What?"

"Crusher. He never forgot about you," Pickle turned to him with a small smile. "He regrets it, you know? Everything you argued about. He doubts himself, pulling himself down every time we're alone. Wishing that he didn't argue with you. Wishing you never left,"

"I..." Prider gulped and turned away. "I didn't know. I... I've always felt guilty for our argument. I... I wanted to go to apologize, but I could never tell if he wanted to see me or not,"

"Man, you two really are best friends," Pickle chuckled. "He also kept murmuring whether you wanted to see him or not. He was really convinced that you were still mad at him and that you never wanted to see him ever again,"

"Really?" Prider blinked before chuckling. "Wow. I feel like a fool,"

Pickle chuckled too but didn't say anything else. The white tiger looked like he was debating if he should say anything before taking a deep breath and turning away.

"How long have you known each other?"

"About a year or two after you left," Pickle smiled fondly at the memory. "He went to a public college, and we met there,"

"How... How did your relationship start out?" Prider turned back. "I mean, I know that his attitude... changed when I left, so..."

Pickle grinned. "I wanted to be his friend at first. I had lots of friends, but I stuck by him all the time, even after he gets into so much trouble. Our bond practically strengthened because of that. He tried pushing me away at first, but I was just as stubborn as he was, so I kept persisting and insisting, and we ended up becoming the best of friends,"

"Then how did you two end up together?"

"Well... I told him first," Pickle blushed as he answered. "He was shocked and thought I was lying, so I kissed him. I... I guess that's how things started. Not the most romantic, but every smile and laugh I get from him is amazing enough,"

Prider watched as the green truck's expression turned daze and lovingly while he stared into the ceiling. This made him smile.

At least there were was good in his late arrival in his best friend's life, after all...

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_[6 years later]_

"Yes!" the child truck squealed as she successfully swiped what her brother was holding. "I got it!"

"No fair, Terra!" the other child truck growled at his sister. "Mommy said that I could use his wand!"

"And I ask Daddy, and he said I can too," Terra huffed. "Don't be so unfair, Aquario!"

"NO!" Aquario hissed and tried to snatch back the wand. "Gimme!"

"IT'S MY TURN!"

"NO! GIVE IT BACK!"

"Woah, woah, take it easy, kiddos," Prider chuckled as he suddenly grabbed the wand from their tires. "What's going on?"

"Terra's taking my turn on the wand, Uncle Prider!" Aquario yelled out.

"Aquario's taking ALL turns!" Terra argued. "It's MY turn now!"

"It's not!"

"It's too!"

"It's NOT!"

"It's TOO!"

"Woah, woah, okay," Prider shook his head. "How about I ask your mother? Would you like them to decide who gets the next turn?"

"NO!" Both kids cried out before driving off into the playground.

Prider sighed. "Oh god, they're father's kids, alright,"

"Hey, hey!" he turned to find the dark blue truck pouting as he drove over to him. "I wasn't THAT bad now, was I?"

"Oh, NO!" Prider grinned. "You were much, MUCH worse, Crush. Like, sneaking out of your own mansion worse,"

"That is... oddly specific," Pickle raised an eyebrow as he joined the two. "Should I be worried?"

"Nah, they'll be fine," Crusher smiled and held his husband close to him. "I only snuck out to race with Pry. And if I can CLEARLY remember..." He turned to his best friend again. "Every escape plan was YOUR plan,"

"But YOU agreed to it, Crush!" Prider defended, raising his front tires up. "I just wanted to help!"

"Still your plan!"

"Hey!"

"Oh NO, now I'm REALLY worried for the kids," Pickle slapped a tire to his head, shaking his head as he watched the two argue.

"Hey, Pickle!" the green truck turned to see Blaze and Darington arrive with a purple young truck with fiery red hair.

"Hi, Blaze! Hi, Darington!" Pickle greeted them with a smile before looking down at the 5-year old. "Aw, and hello little Inferna,"

"Hello, Uncle Pickle," Inferna waved. "Are Ter and Quario here?"

"They're at the playground," Pickle told her. "Wanna join them?"

Inferna nodded and turned to the daredevil truck. "May I, Mommy?"

"Sure!" Darington ruffled her hair. "Just stay with them until we pick you up, okay?"

"Okay!" Inferna beamed and drove off to join her friends.

"What's going on with them?" Blaze pointed a tire to the arguing duo.

"The stress of my life, apparently," Pickle sighed. "Now I'm worried how influential either of them are to the kids,"

"Same with Inferna to Darington," Blaze gave a nod in understanding.

"Hey!" Darington glared at him.

"Sorry, Darry-Berry, but it's true," the red truck offered a smile, slightly wincing as the daredevil truck's glare deepened. "It is!"

"Yeah, and you're any better," Darington rolled his eyes.

Pickle shook his head and turned to watch the two best friends stop arguing and begin a better, calmer conversation. He chuckled and sighed.

Life had been a struggle, with the pain, the near-loss and the struggle. The pain of hiding their secrets from the friends they grew to trust, the near-loss of one another in life, and the struggle Crusher had to go through to fight his way back to life 6 years ago.

But in the end, he and Crusher were still together, and that's all they've ever wanted.

_The End_


End file.
